Other

Generating Cognitive Dissonance in Student Interviews through Multiple Representations

This study explores what students understand about enzyme–substrate interactions, using multiple representations of the phenomenon. In this paper we describe our use of the 3 Phase-Single Interview Technique with multiple representations to generate cognitive dissonance within students in order to uncover misconceptions of enzyme–substrate interactions. Findings from 25 student interviews are interpreted through the lens of multiple theoretical frameworks, including personal constructivism and coherence formation.

Author/Presenter

Kimberly J. Linenberger

Stacey Lowery Bretz

Lead Organization(s)
Year
2012
Short Description

This study explores what students understand about enzyme–substrate interactions, using multiple representations of the phenomenon. In this paper we describe our use of the 3 Phase-Single Interview Technique with multiple representations to generate cognitive dissonance within students in order to uncover misconceptions of enzyme–substrate interactions. Findings from 25 student interviews are interpreted through the lens of multiple theoretical frameworks, including personal constructivism and coherence formation. The importance of classroom teachers engaging students in dialogue about representations is discussed.

A Symmetry POGIL Activity for Inorganic Chemistry

Author/Presenter

Cynthia J. Luxford

Michael W. Crowder

Stacey Lowery Bretz

Lead Organization(s)
Year
2012
Short Description

The goal of this project was to create an inquiry activity to teach symmetry elements and symmetry operations in an inorganic chemistry course. Many students experience difficulty when building and mentally manipulating three-dimensional mental models from two-dimensional images, causing difficulty when learning symmetry. Process-oriented, guided-inquiry learning (POGIL) was used to structure the activity using a learning cycle paradigm consistent with research on how students learn as described by Novak’s human constructivism theory. The activity familiarized students with symmetry terms as students actively engaged in finding symmetry operations in a variety of molecules. The symmetry activity was classroom tested and student and POGIL expert feedback were used to improve the activity.

Resource(s)

A Novel Technology to Investigate Students’ Understandings of Enzyme Representations

Author/Presenter

Kimberly J. Linenberger

Stacey Lowery Bretz

Lead Organization(s)
Year
2012
Short Description

Digital pen-and-paper technology, although marketed commercially as a bridge between old and new notetaking capabilities, synchronizes the collection of both written and audio data. This manuscript describes how this technology was used to improve data collection in research regarding students’ learning, specifically their understanding of enzyme-substrate interactions as depicted in textbook representations. Students were
provided this technology during individual interviews and were permitted to annotate multiple representations of enzymes and substrates, as well as to generate their own representations. The ability to digitally revisit the sequential student drawings was
valuable in analysis of the research findings. Innovative and novel uses for this technology are discussed for both discipline-based education research and classroom practice.

Understanding Criticism and Problem-Based Learning: An Introduction

Author/Presenter

Samuel B. Fee

Brian R. Belland

Lead Organization(s)
Year
2012
Short Description

This volume reflects upon how learners engage in the processes of problem solving and critical thinking by exploring the critical theories that undergird these processes; and this chapter introduces practitioners of educational technology to the contents of the book. The discourse of this text relates criticism and PBL to current trends in educational research. In addition to the broader context of the volume, this first chapter quickly summarizes the content of each remaining chapter. This text puts forward criticism as a lens for viewing the work that educators do, in terms of instructional design as well as the assessment of those activities. The result is learning that reflects more successfully the needs of our society: critical-thinking abilities and problem-solving skills.

Conclusion: Building on the Strengths of Interdisciplinarity

Author/Presenter

Brian R. Belland

Samuel B. Fee

Lead Organization(s)
Year
2012
Short Description

This chapter concludes The role of criticism in understanding problem solving. In it, the overall message of the book—that criticism and critical theories can serve to aid critical reading and synthesis of the educational technology research literature—is summarized. One of the strengths of the educational technology field is its interdisciplinarity. As students enter the field from many different academic disciplines, they should be encouraged to apply not just the content of their former disciplines but also the strategies of and frameworks for thinking about problems.

Distributed Cognition as a Lens to Understand the Effects of Scaffolds: The Role of Transfer of Responsibility

Author/Presenter

Brian Belland

Lead Organization(s)
Year
2011
Short Description

Problem solving is an important skill in the knowledge economy. Research indicates that the development of problem solving skills works better in the context of instructional approaches centered on real-world problems. But students need scaffolding to be successful in such instruction. In this paper I present a conceptual framework for understanding the effects of scaffolding. First, I discuss the ultimate goal of scaffolding—the transfer of responsibility—and one way that scholars have conceptualized promoting this outcome (fading). Next, I describe an alternative way to conceptualize transfer of responsibility through the lens of distributed cognition and discuss how this lens informs how to promote transfer of responsibility. Then I propose guidelines for the creation of problem solving scaffolds to support transfer of responsibility and discuss them in light of the literature.

The Role of Criticism in Understanding Problem Solving

  • Establishes criticism as a valuable tool for research in Educational Technology
  • Provides case studies to fully explain the role for criticism in PBL research
  • Proposes a fresh new approach to solve complex research questions within Educational Technology
  • Introduces a new method for data analysis and analysis of research results in PBL
Author/Presenter

Samuel B. Fee

Brian Belland

Lead Organization(s)
Year
2012
Short Description

The concept of criticism as a tool for research, although well established in other educational research traditions, is not well established in the domain of Educational Technology. This book changes all that by substantiating criticism as a way to step back and critically evaluate an educational intervention within educational technology. Doing so provides an valuable approach for researchers in terms of guiding meta analyses and theoretical studies, preventing the proverbial "spinning of the wheels" that often happens in educational research.

Development of the Enzyme-Substrate Interactions Concept Inventory

Author/Presenter

Stacey Lowery Bretz

Kimberly J. Linenberger

Lead Organization(s)
Year
2012
Short Description

Enzyme function is central to student understanding of multiple topics within the biochemistry curriculum. In particular, students must understand how enzymes and substrates interact with one another. This manuscript describes the development of a 15-item Enzyme–Substrate Interactions Concept Inventory(ESICI) that measures student understanding of enzyme–substrate interactions. The validity and reliability of ESICI data were established through multiple methods. Results from the administration of the ESICI to biochemistry students across the United States (N = 707) are discussed in terms of instrument quality. The manuscript concludes with suggestions for how to use the ESICI for both teaching and biochemistry education research.

Resource(s)

Evaluation in DR K-12 Projects: Options

The Discovery Research K-12 (DR K-12) Program of the National Science Foundation (NSF) supports research and development (R&D) on innovative resources, models, and tools for use by students, teachers, administrators, and policy makers. Each project has formative and summative evaluation, which are different from the project’s own R&D activities and instead should support and measure the effectiveness of those activities.

Evaluation options for investigators and evaluators to consider could include the following:

Author/Presenter

Brenda Turnbull

Year
2012
Short Description

Each DR K-12 project has formative and summative evaluation, which are different from the project’s own R&D activities and instead should support and measure the effectiveness of those activities. This paper discusses evaluation options for investigators and evaluators to consider. Read the full paper for a description of these options.

From Dissemination to Knowledge Use: Options for DR K-12

The Discovery Research K-12 (DR K-12) Program of the National Science Foundation (NSF) supports research and development (R&D) on innovative resources, models, and tools for use by students, teachers, administrators, and policy makers. Although the program embraces the aim of supporting use of the knowledge it produces, project teams may lack the know-how, incentives, or time to engage in the concerted efforts that are likely to lead to knowledge use, especially use outside the research community.

Author/Presenter

Brenda Turnbull

Year
2012
Short Description

To foster knowledge use among policy makers or practitioners requires a substantial effort that invests in sustained interaction and enlists a range of supports for the prospective knowledge users. This paper discusses some options for more effective dissemination efforts that could lead to knowledge use. Read the full paper for a description of these options.