Alphabet-Board Display as part of the classroom learning space

AbstractAlphabet-boards are commonplace in lower grade classrooms in elementary-schools. If designed correctly, alphabet-boards can help internalize letters into memory. The purpose of this study was to examine alphabet-board characteristics that should be considered by teachers for providing a clear, readable, and applicable pedagogical tool.The research is a mixed qualitative and quantitative study. The former provides a definition of alphabet-board readability characteristics and a scale for analyzing this readability. The latter provides a readability evaluation using a survey (n=399) and statistical analyses.This article provides practical recommendations for implementation of clear and effective alphabet-board pedagogy

Universidad y discapacidad. El uso de las tecnologías en la enseñanza de las disciplinas proyectuales: estrategias didácticas que favorecen la educación inclusiva

Estudiar las relaciones entre estrategias de enseñanza que integran tecnologías y la inclusión de estudiantes con discapacidad en el área del diseño en la universidad fue la propuesta de investigación de la tesis de Maestría en Docencia Universitaria

Chaotic scattering in ultracold atom-ion collisions

We report on signatures of classical chaos in ultracold collisions between a trapped ion and a free atom. Using numerical simulations, we show that the scattering dynamics can be highly sensitive to initial conditions for various mass ratios and trapping frequencies, indicating the onset of chaos. We quantify this chaotic dynamics by calculating its fractal dimension. We show that for a trapped $^{88}$Sr$^+$ ion and a free $^{87}$Rb atom chaotic dynamic appears under experimentally relevant conditions, and find its characteristic energy scale. The observation of classical chaos in atom-trapped-ion collisions suggests that signatures of quantum chaos might appear, for example, through a Wigner-Dyson distribution of collisional resonances.Comment: 6+3 pages, 5 figure

Detecting multiple chiral centers in chiral molecules with high harmonic generation

Characterizing chiral is highly important for applications in the pharmaceutical industry, as well as in the study of dynamical chemical and biological systems. However, this task has remained challenging, especially due to the ongoing increasing complexity and size of the molecular structure of drugs and active compounds. In particular, large molecules with many active chiral centers are today ubiquitous, but remain difficult to structurally analyze due to their high number of stereoisomers. Here we theoretically explore the sensitivity of high harmonic generation (HHG) to the chiral of molecules with a varying number of active chiral centers. We find that HHG driven by bi-chromatic non-collinear lasers is a sensitive probe for the stereo-configuration of a chiral molecule. We first show through calculations (from benchmark chiral molecules with up to three chiral centers) that the HHG spectrum is imprinted with information about the handedness of each chiral center in the driven molecule. Next, we show that using both classical- and deep-learning-based reconstruction algorithms, the composition of an unknown mixture of stereoisomers can be reconstructed with high fidelity by a single-shot HHG measurement. Our work illustrates how the combination of non-linear optics and machine learning might open routes for ultra-sensitive sensing in chiral systems

Universidad y discapacidad. El uso de las tecnologías en la enseñanza de las disciplinas proyectuales: estrategias didácticas que favorecen la educación inclusiva

Estudiar las relaciones entre estrategias de enseñanza que integran tecnologías y la inclusión de estudiantes con discapacidad en el área del diseño en la universidad fue la propuesta de investigación de la tesis de Maestría en Docencia Universitaria

When quantitative meets qualitative: enhancing OPM conceptual systems modeling with MATLAB computational capabilities

Conceptual modeling is an important initial stage in the life cycle of engineered systems. It is also highly instrumental in studying existing unfamiliar systems—the focus of scientific inquiry. Conceptual modeling methodologies convey key qualitative system aspects, often at the expense of suppressing quantitative ones. We present and assess two approaches for solving this computational simplification problem by combining Object-Process Methodology (OPM), the new ISO/PAS 19450 standard, with MATLAB or Simulink without compromising the holism and simplicity of the OPM conceptual model. The first approach, AUTOMATLAB, expands the OPM model to a full-fledged MATLAB-based simulation. In the second approach, OPM computational subcontractor, computation-enhanced functions replace low-level processes of the OPM model with MATLAB or Simulink models. We demonstrate the OPM computational subcontractor on a radar system computation. Experimenting with students on a model of an online shopping system with and without AUTOMATLAB has indicated important benefits of employing this computation layer on top of the native conceptual OPM model

Flipped Classrooms and COVID-19 Disruption: Empirical Results

Global educational systems had not anticipated that one day, overnight, they would have to move their traditional teaching to online learning. This move was disruptive and highlighted the need for future educational systems designed to bridge the gap between face-to-face (f2f) and online learning with minimal disruption. We present statistical evidence that learners in flipped f2f classes did not experience disruption when moved fully online. On the contrary, we found that our two measures of disruption, student satisfaction with learning and student engagement, improved when the flipped classes were moved fully online. This we attribute to the focus on student learning using computer-based materials that is part of flipped learning. While there are classes unsuitable for flipping, the pandemic has demonstrated that all classes can be taught online. This suggests that a greater emphasis on using computers for learning in traditional f2f classes will make them less vulnerable to future natural or man-made disasters that may force an unexpected transition to online learning

Modeling with Real-Time Informative Feedback: Implementing and Evaluating a New Massive Open Online Course Component

Abstract As part of the design, development, and deployment of a massive open online course (MOOC) on model-based systems engineering, we introduced MORTIF—Modeling with Real-Time Informative Feedback, a new learning-by-doing feature that enables the learner to model, receive detailed feedback, and resubmit improved solutions. We examined the pedagogical usability of MORTIF by investigating characteristics of participants working with it, and their perceived contribution, preferred question type, and learning style. The research included 295 participants and applied the mixed-methods approach, using MOOC server data and online questionnaires. Analyzing 12,095 submissions, we found increasing frequency of using the model resubmitting option. Students ranked MORTIF as the highest of six question types in terms of preference and perceived contribution level. Nine learning style categories were identified and classified based on students’ verbal explanations regarding their preference of MORTIF over the other question types. MORTIF has been effective in promoting meaningful learning, supporting our hypothesis that the combination of active learning with real-time informative feedback is a learning mode that students eagerly embrace and benefit from. The benefits we identified for using MORTIF include active learning, provision of meaningful immediate feedback to the learner, the option to use the feedback on the spot and resubmitting an improved model, and its suitability for a variety of learning styles

Observation of trap-assisted formation of atom-ion bound states

Pairs of free particles cannot form bound states in elastic collision due to momentum and energy conservation. In many ultracold experiments, however, the particles collide in the presence of an external trapping potential which can couple the center-of-mass and relative motions and assist the formation of bound-states. Here, we report on observation of weakly bound molecular states formed between one ultracold $^{87}$Rb atom and a single trapped $^{88}$Sr$^+$ ion in the presence of a linear Paul trap. We show that bound states can form efficiently in binary collisions, and enhance the rate of inelastic processes. By observing electronic spin-exchange rate, we study the dependence of these bound states on the collision energy and magnetic field and extract the average molecular binding energy $E_{\textrm{bind}}=0.7(1)$ mK$\cdot k_B$ and the mean lifetime of the molecule $\tau=0.5(1)\,\mu$s, with good agreement with molecular-dynamics simulations. Our simulations predict a highly unusual power-law distribution of molecular lifetimes with a mean that is dominated by extreme, long-lived, events. The dependence of the molecular properties on the trapping parameters opens new avenues to study and control ultracold collisions.Comment: 17 pages, 12 figure