Palaeogene deposits in North-East Greenland

Scattered occurrences of Palaeogene sediments are found in North-East Greenland, where they overlie unconformably Cretaceous sediments and are capped by Palaeogene basalts. These sediments have received little attention (Watt 1994), except for relatively recent studies (Nøhr-Hansen & Piasecki 2002; Jolley & Whitham 2004; Larsen et al. 2005; Heilmann- Clausen et al. 2008). As part of an ongoing petroleum geological study that focuses on the Jurassic–Cretaceous succession, the Palaeogene sediments were included to better constrain their age, depositional environment and relation to the basalts. Several localities were investigated on Wollaston Forland, Sabine Ø and Hold with Hope, a few of which are described here (Fig. 1)

Mentorship Experiences of Doctoral Students: Understanding Desired Attributes of Doctoral Student Mentors

Background: Mentorship is a critical aspect of the professional development of the doctoral student who wishes to pursue a role in higher education. Continued understanding is needed regarding the needs of the doctoral student when it comes to mentorship. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to describe the needs of a doctoral student from their mentoring relationships, as they work towards their terminal degree. Methods: This is a descriptive, phenomenological qualitative research study within universities that offer doctoral education. One-on-one, semi-structured interviews were conducted using Zoom video conference technology. Each interview, after transcribed, was analyzed following the step-wise approach of a phenomenological study. Credibility was established by 1) research triangulation, 2) bracketing/reflexivity, and 3) peer review. Results: Twelve doctoral students (7 females, 5 males) who were enrolled in doctoral programs with a focus on allied health or exercise science completed the Zoom interviews. Our participants were an average age of 28 3 years, and all twelve had graduate assistantship positions in association with their doctoral programs. Three main themes materialized from the data analyses including 1) guided autonomy, 2) humanistic nature, and 3) professional advocate. Doctoral students want guidance to develop the technical skills necessary for success by providing opportunities to perform with the chance to gain feedback. Mentors were identified as needing to demonstrate humanistic qualities that were rooted in being interpersonal. The importance of a mentor serving as a professional advocate to help the student grow and develop as a professional was also discussed. Conclusions: Doctoral students need their mentors to demonstrate both personal and professional attributes in the mentor relationship. Specifically, they are looking for guidance and feedback through independent learning, as well as a mentor who values them, is relatable, and is invested in their development as a professional

Design features for computer-supported complex systems learning and teaching in high school science classrooms

While research on teaching and learning about complex systems has achieved solid grounding in the learning sciences, few educational studies have focused on articulating design features for classroom implementation that can serve a modular purpose for building curricular and instructional experiences. Furthermore, despite the fact that several studies describe important roles for teachers in constructing successful classroom learning experiences, only a few of them examine how teachers’ instructional practices, knowledge, and beliefs influence student learning outcomes and the extent to which teachers are interested and willing to teach through complex systems approaches. Furthermore, we do not know what supports teachers themselves say that they need to teach about complex systems in their classrooms. In this study, we present a curriculum and instruction framework that outlines how teaching and learning about complex systems in high school science classroom contexts can be done. We articulate the features of the framework and provide examples of how the framework is translated into practice. We follow with evidence from an exploratory study conducted with 10 teachers and over 300 students aimed at understanding change in teachers’ instructional practices; the extent to which students learned from the activities; what teachers’ perceptions were in terms of utility and usability; and what other supports teachers needed

Impacts on student understanding of scientific practices and crosscutting themes through an NGSS–designed computer-supported curriculum and instruction project

This paper presents a curriculum intervention intentionally designed to align with Next Generation Science Standards in the high-school biology classroom. The project emphasizes learning about complex systems through an agent-based modeling tool called StarLogo Nova. Five curricular units have been developed on the topics of enzymes, ecology, protein synthesis, gene regulation, and sugar transport. In this exploratory study we were interested in understanding the extent to which students demonstrated understanding and skills in NGSS areas as they were designed. Evidence is gleaned from classroom observations and interviews with 50 students selected from the larger population of 352 students who worked with project resources during the 2013-2014 school year. Findings revealed that students demonstrated understanding and skills in all NGSS scientific practices and crosscutting themes particularly in the areas of developing and using models, analyzing and interpreting data, cause and effect, and systems and system models

Stratigraphy and palaeoceanography of upper Maastrichtian chalks, southern Danish Central Graben

Upper Maastrichtian chalks form important hydrocarbon reservoirs in the Danish sector of the North Sea and have been intensively studied, yet their lithological uniformity can frustrate attempts to develop a high-resolution stratigraphic subdivision and a genetic understanding of the factors controlling production and sedimentation of the pelagic carbonate ooze. Recent research into these topics, supported by the Danish Energy Authority, was carried out by the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS) in collaboration with the Geological Institute, University of Copenhagen by means of a multidisciplinary study involvingquantitative/semiquantitative palynology, micropalaeontology (nannofossils, foraminifers) and isotope geochemistry, integrated with detailed sedimentology. Two key wells were selected, the M-10X well from the Dan Field and the E-5X well from the Tyra SE Field (Fig. 1), based on the extensive core coverage in these wells and on their position in the southern part of the Danish Central Graben where evidence of large-scale resedimentation (and consequent stratigraphic complexity) is uncommon within the Maastrichtian section. In focusing on such a pelagic carbonate system, the ultimate aim is a holistic understanding of the marine system including temperature variation, nutrient supply and distribution, salinity, watermass layering, circulation and oxygen distribution. All these factors influence organic productivity and thus the accumulation of biogenic sediment. This study concentrated on a number of palaeoceanographic signals that can be derived from the sedimentary record, summarised in Fig. 2. Planktonic organisms, both phytoplankton (e.g. coccolithophores, some dinoflagellates) and zooplankton (e.g. foraminifers) provide a record of conditions in the upper water masses, largely within the photic zone, while bottom conditions are indicated by epifaunal/infaunal organisms (e.g. benthic foraminifers) and bioturbation, and by the sedimentological evidence of depositional processes at the sea floor. On a larger scale, the input of terrestrial organic material relative to the marine component can provide an indirect measure of shoreline migration and thus relative sea-level change, a factor that is also reflected in the δ13C isotopic composition of the seawater, as recorded by the biogenic carbonate ooze

Designing curriculum and instruction for computer-supported complex systems teaching and learning in high school science classrooms

While research on teaching and learning about complex systems has achieved solid grounding in the learning sciences, few educational studies have focused on articulating design features for classroom implementation that can serve a modular purpose for building curricular and instructional experiences. Furthermore, despite the fact that several studies describe important roles for teachers in constructing successful classroom learning experiences, only a few of them examine how teachers’ instructional practices, knowledge, and beliefs influence student learning outcomes and the extent to which teachers are interested and willing to teach through complex systems approaches. Furthermore, we do not know what supports teachers themselves say that they need to teach about complex systems in their classrooms. In this study, we present a curriculum and instruction framework that outlines how teaching and learning about complex systems in high school science classroom contexts can be done. We articulate the features of the framework and provide examples of how the framework is translated into practice. We follow with evidence from an exploratory study conducted with 10 teachers and over 300 students aimed at understanding change in teachers’ instructional practices; the extent to which students learned from the activities; what teachers’ perceptions were in terms of utility and usability; and what other supports teachers needed

Teaching about complex systems is no simple matter: building effective professional development for computer-supported complex systems instruction

The recent next generation science standards in the United States have emphasized learning about complex systems as a core feature of science learning. Over the past 15 years, a number of educational tools and theories have been investigated to help students learn about complex systems; but surprisingly, little research has been devoted to identifying the supports that teachers need to teach about complex systems in the classroom. In this paper, we aim to address this gap in the literature. We describe a 2-year professional development study in which we gathered data on teachers’ abilities and perceptions regarding the delivery of computer-supported complex systems curricula. We present results across the 2 years of the project and demonstrate the need for particular instructional supports to improve implementation efforts, including providing differentiated opportunities to build expertise and addressing teacher beliefs about whether computational-model construction belongs in the science classroom. Results from students’ classroom experiences and learning over the 2 years are offered to further illustrate the impact of these instructional supports.National Science Foundation (U.S.). Discovery Research K– 12 (Grant 1019228