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Descriptors:
Developmental Stages; Genetics; Biology; Animals; Laboratories; Undergraduate Students; Higher Education; Undergraduate Study; Science Education

Abstract:
We developed laboratory exercises using zebrafish ("Danio rerio") and nematodes ("Caenorhabditis elegans") for a sophomore-level Integrative Biology Laboratory course. Students examined live wildtype zebrafish at different stages of development and noted shifts occurring in response to "fgf8a" deficiency. Students were introduced to development in other fish species to demonstrate how variation in developmental systems affects phenotype. Finally, students cultured "glp-1(bn18ts) C. elegans" mutants under different conditions to illustrate how the environment and genetics act concurrently to modulate development. Undergraduate students responded positively to both the fish and "C. elegans" laboratory modules. These novel laboratory exercises are intended to promote an integrative view of biology and to help prepare undergraduate students for independent research with faculty. (Contains 1 table and 1 figure.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Biotechnology; Genetics; Microbiology; Laboratories; Undergraduate Students; Radiation; Experiments; Research Design

Abstract:
A simple and cheap laboratory class is proposed to illustrate the lethal effect of UV radiation on bacteria and the operation of different DNA repair mechanisms. The class is divided into two sessions, an initial 3-hour experimental session and a second 2-hour analytical session. The experimental session involves two separate experiments: one dedicated to illustrating the lethal effect of UV radiation and the protective effect of DNA photorepair; the second to explore the operation of DNA repair mechanisms that prioritise survival but introduce mutations. The procedure makes use of a "Pseudomonas aeruginosa" double auxotroph, which serves to detect UV-induced back-mutations to prototrophy. The proposed scheme is carried out by undergraduate students of the Bacterial Physiology and Genetics course, as part of our Biotechnology curriculum. We think that it will be a valuable tool for microbiology students to increase their understanding of basic genetic concepts. (Contains 1 table and 3 figures.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Laboratories; Laboratory Experiments; Theory Practice Relationship; Pretests Posttests; Grade 12; Genetics; Cognitive Processes; Difficulty Level; Learning Modules; Multivariate Analysis; Prior Learning; Instructional Design; Student Characteristics

Abstract:
This study classified students into different cognitive load (CL) groups by means of cluster analysis based on their experienced CL in a gene technology outreach lab which has instructionally been designed with regard to CL theory. The relationships of the identified student CL clusters to learner characteristics, laboratory variables, and cognitive achievement were examined using a pre-post-follow-up design. Participants of our day-long module "Genetic Fingerprinting" were 409 twelfth-graders. During the module instructional phases (pre-lab, theoretical, experimental, and interpretation phases), we measured the students' mental effort (ME) as an index of CL. By clustering the students' module-phase-specific ME pattern, we found three student CL clusters which were independent of the module instructional phases, labeled as low-level, average-level, and high-level loaded clusters. Additionally, we found two student CL clusters that were each particular to a specific module phase. Their members reported especially high ME invested in one phase each: within the pre-lab phase and within the interpretation phase. Differentiating the clusters, we identified uncertainty tolerance, prior experience in experimentation, epistemic interest, and prior knowledge as relevant learner characteristics. We found relationships to cognitive achievement, but no relationships to the examined laboratory variables. Our results underscore the importance of pre-lab and interpretation phases in hands-on teaching in science education and the need for teachers to pay attention to these phases, both inside and outside of outreach laboratory learning settings. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Foreign Countries; High School Students; High Schools; Urban Schools; Chemistry; Secondary School Science; Experimental Groups; Control Groups; Inquiry; Concept Formation; Scientific Concepts; Laboratories

Abstract:
This study aimed to investigate the effects of inquiry-based laboratory activities on high school students' understanding of electrochemistry and attitudes towards chemistry and laboratory work. The participants were 62 high school students (average age 17 years) in an urban public high school in Turkey. Students were assigned to experimental (N = 30) and control groups (N = 32). The experimental group was taught using inquiry-based laboratory activities developed by the researchers and the control group was instructed using traditional laboratory activities. The results of the study indicated that instruction based on inquiry-based laboratory activities caused a significantly better acquisition of scientific concepts related to electrochemistry, and produced significantly higher positive attitudes towards chemistry and laboratory. In the light of the findings, it is suggested that inquiry-based laboratory activities should be developed and applied to promote students' understanding in chemistry subjects and to improve their positive attitudes. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Science Education; Foreign Countries; Science Instruction; Science Teachers; Laboratories; Nationalism; Textbooks; State Schools; Secondary Education; Case Studies; Chemistry; Physics

Abstract:
A case study of secondary experimental science instruction in Belgium demonstrates the importance of cross-national communication in the study of science education. Belgian secondary science education in the years 1880-1914 had a clear internationalist dimension. French and German influences turn out to have been essential, stimulated by the fact that Belgium, as a result of its geographical position, considered itself as the centre of scientific relations between France and Germany, and as actually strengthened by its linguistic and cultural dualism in this regard. This pursuit of internationalist nationalism also affected the configuration of chemistry and physics as experimental courses at Belgian Royal State Schools, although the years preceding WWI are usually characterized as a period of rising nationalism in science, with countries such as Germany and France as prominent actors. To what extent did France and Germany influence Belgian debates on science education, science teachers' training, the use of textbooks, and the instalment of school laboratories and teaching collections? Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Cognitive Processes; Outcome Measures; Chemistry; Statistical Analysis; Interaction; Assignments; Research Design; Data Processing; Laboratories; Handheld Devices; Comparative Analysis; Experimental Groups; Active Learning; Inquiry; Academic Achievement; Science Education; Science Instruction; Science Teachers; Teacher Student Ratio; Scaffolding (Teaching Technique); Grouping (Instructional Purposes)

Abstract:
Chemistry instructors in teaching laboratories provide expert modeling of techniques and cognitive processes and provide assistance to enrolled students that may be described as scaffolding interaction. Such student support is particularly essential in laboratories taught with an inquiry-based curriculum. In a teaching laboratory with a high instructor-to-student ratio, mobile devices can provide a platform for expert modeling and scaffolding during the laboratory sessions. This research study provides data collected on the effectiveness of podcasts delivered as needed in a first-semester general chemistry laboratory setting. Podcasts with audio "and" visual tracks covering essential laboratory techniques and central concepts that aid in experimental design or data processing were prepared and made available for students to access on an as-needed basis on iPhones[R] or iPod touches[R]. Research focused in three areas: the extent of podcast usage, the numbers and types of interactions between instructors and student laboratory teams, and student performance on graded assignments. Data analysis indicates that on average the podcast treatment laboratory teams accessed a podcast 2.86 times during the laboratory period during each week that podcasts were available. Comparison of interaction data for the lecture treatment laboratory teams and podcast treatment laboratory teams reveals that scaffolding interactions with instructors were statistically significantly fewer for teams that had podcast access rather than a pre-laboratory lecture. The implication of the results is that student laboratory teams were able to gather laboratory information more effectively when it was presented in an on-demand podcast format than in a pre-laboratory lecture format. Finally, statistical analysis of data on student performance on graded assignments indicates no significant differences between outcome measures for the treatment groups when compared as cohorts. The only statistically significant difference is between students who demonstrated a high level of class participation in the concurrent general chemistry lecture course; for this sub-group the students in the podcast treatment group earned a course average that was statistically significantly higher than those in the lecture treatment group. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Parent Child Relationship; Caregivers; Laboratories; Delay of Gratification; Preschool Children; Academic Achievement; Task Analysis; Correlation; Questionnaires; Personality Traits; Rewards; Classification; Intervention

Abstract:
Delay of gratification in young children has been linked to long-term behavioral and academic outcomes. This study explored parent behavior during a laboratory paradigm as possible associates of delay ability. The sample consisted of 50 two- and three-year-old children and their primary caregivers. A newly created laboratory task, the gift delay task, was conducted to assess delay of gratification. Additionally, parents completed a child temperament (EASI-III) questionnaire. Based on the award-oriented behavior in the gift delay task, children were classified into three groups: delay (20%), touch and go (i.e., approached the gift, but demonstrated some delay ability; 46%), and non delay (34%). Likewise, parents were classified into three groups: non-directive (parents did not initiate any interactions, but may have participated in child-led activity), active (parents initiated interaction with the child no more than 3 times), and very active (parents initiated 4 or more interactions with the child). Significant differences in emotionality and impulsivity were found between the 3 groups of children; additionally, significant differences in delay ability were found based on parent classifications suggesting that there is an optimal level of involvement on part of the parent that helps the child to wait, but beyond this point, involvement may be detrimental to a successful delay outcome. Implications for behavioral interventions focused on parental support and scaffolding are discussed. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Transfer Policy; Consultants; Public Agencies; Engineering; Technology Transfer; Foreign Countries; Natural Sciences; Laboratories; Research Universities; College Faculty; Transfer of Training; Ethics; Resource Allocation; Surveys; Researchers; Validity; Problem Solving; Industry; School Business Relationship

Abstract:
Academic consulting is a form of knowledge and technology transfer largely under-documented and under-studied that raises ethical and resources allocation issues. Based on a survey of 2,590 Canadian researchers in engineering and natural sciences, this paper explores three forms of academic consulting: (1) paid consulting; (2) unpaid consulting for companies and; (3) unpaid consulting for government agencies. The results of this study show that academics tend to engage simultaneously in paid and unpaid consulting. Two patterns of consulting emerged from the results: a first pattern regarding engagement in paid consulting for companies and government agencies, and unpaid consulting for companies is positively associated with industry funding, size of research laboratories, large-sized research universities, technical validation of knowledge, protection of IP, and strong ties with people in companies. By comparison, a second pattern regarding engagement in unpaid consulting services provided to government organizations is positively associated with size of research laboratories, teaching, large-sized research universities, technical validation of knowledge, and with strong ties with people in government organizations. Knowledge and technology transfer policy should pay more attention to the contribution of academics engaged in consulting activities because they likely significantly contribute to help companies and government agencies solve practical problems that improve their productive and innovative capabilities. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Computer Uses in Education; Undergraduate Students; College Science; Energy Conservation; STEM Education; Information Technology; Educational Technology; Internet; Conservation (Environment); Laboratories

Abstract:
An undergraduate introductory science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) class can be a jarring disappointment to new students expecting to work with cutting-edge, real-world technology. Their cell phones are often more technically advanced and real-world than the tools used in a class lab. Not surprisingly, many complain that the STEM labs are dull and antiquated. To address these issues, the authors have created an online lab where students can interact via the Internet with tracking solar panels and solar power measurement tools at the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Renewable Energy (RE) Lab in Mountain View, CA. The authors evaluate the impact of using real-life, real-time, real-world solar data on student learning. In identical pre- and post-lab quizzes taken before and after students performed the lab, two thirds of errors made on the pre-quiz were corrected on the post-quiz. (Contains 8 figures and 2 tables.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Engineering Education; Computer Science Education; Programming; Computer Assisted Design; Computer System Design; Logical Thinking; Teaching Methods; Introductory Courses; Course Evaluation; Course Descriptions; Undergraduate Study; College Instruction; Cooperative Education; College Curriculum; Laboratories; Student Evaluation of Teacher Performance; Student Attitudes

Abstract:
For a basic foundation in computer engineering, universities traditionally teach synchronous sequential circuit design, using discrete gates or field programmable gate arrays, and a microcomputers course that includes basic I/O processing. These courses, though critical, expose students to only a small subset of tools. At co-op schools like Kettering University, Flint, MI, students could strongly benefit from a more diverse set of topics and tool experience in their curriculum. This paper presents an undergraduate course that includes introductions to sequential circuit design using asynchronous logic, ladder logic and its general implementation on programmable logic controllers, and fuzzy logic targeted at both PC and embedded processor applications. The paper discusses the structure of the course, the objectives and material, the laboratory platforms, and the evaluations of the first course offerings that show the course's success. (Contains 4 tables and 2 figures.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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