Entry Level Science Courses: The Weak Link

Lab exercises have traditionally been a time when students follow a given procedure, collect data, and interpret the data. The highly structured experience often leads to students focusing on the procedure and not fully thinking through the concepts being covered. While labs are fully completed each week, the structured approach does not prepare students for the open-ended, non-procedural work entry-level engineers will encounter in industry. To encourage a deeper understanding of course concepts and how they translate to physical systems and better prepare students for the workforce, open-ended design projects were offered in place of structured labs in the circuits and mechatronics courses at James Madison University. The design projects are undirected experiences that build on the directed experiences in lecture and lab. Students are challenged to work in teams to design, build, test, and in one case, calibrate, an electrical system. No instruction is provided for the project, rather, a set of design requirements, timetable, and supplemental materials (e.g., data sheets, vendor design briefs, past labs relevant to the design requirements) are given. Students must synthesize multiple weeks of course content into a single design project. This paper reports on our observations and student feedback for embedding design experiences in engineering science courses.

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Can the WRAT-4 Math Computation Subtest Predict Final Grade in College-Level Science

Review of European Studies ◽

10.5539/res.v10n4p144 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 10 (4) ◽

pp. 144

Author(s):

Robert John Zagar ◽

Joseph W. Kovach ◽

Ahmed Lakhani ◽

Tracy Stone ◽

Ishup Singh ◽

...

Keyword(s):

College Level ◽

Final Grade ◽

Science Courses ◽

College Curriculum ◽

Entry Level ◽

Wide Range Achievement Test ◽

High School Grades ◽

Wide Range ◽

Science Classes ◽

Advanced Science Courses

Seventy-one, freshman through senior undergraduate college students 28 males and 43 females, M age =22.34 yr., SD = 4.20 in 5 different science classes were administered the Wide Range Achievement Test Fourth Edition (WRAT-4) Math Computation Subtest. Predictive validity coefficients were calculated relative to the criterion of the final class grade. The validity coefficient for the pre-course WRAT score was statistically significant. The WRAT-4 Math subtest can be used by instructors to examine performance on specific items to judge the appropriateness of a student’s placement in either entry-level or advanced science courses. However, high school grades are also a good predictor of completing the college curriculum and should be used along with math computation skills scores. Also motivation to complete college level science courses and socioeconomic status may be covariates in predicting college science final grade and eventual graduation from college.

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Student Perception of Metacognitive Activities in Entry-Level Science Courses

Natural Sciences Education ◽

10.4195/nse2013.06.0021 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 43 (1) ◽

pp. 25-32 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Leah Sandall ◽

Martha Mamo ◽

Carol Speth ◽

Don Lee ◽

Timothy Kettler

Keyword(s):

Student Perception ◽

Science Courses ◽

Entry Level

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Structural analysis of a Σ5 grain boundary in YBa2Cu3O7δ

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s042482010015054x ◽

1993 ◽

Vol 51 ◽

pp. 942-943

Author(s):

J.-Y. Wang ◽

Y. Zhu ◽

A.H. King ◽

M. Suenaga

Keyword(s):

Grain Boundary ◽

Lattice Mismatch ◽

Weak Link ◽

Coincidence Site Lattice ◽

Large Angle ◽

Dislocation Core ◽

Superconducting Order Parameter ◽

Outstanding Problem ◽

Transmission Electron

One outstanding problem in YBa2Cu3O7−δ superconductors is the weak link behavior of grain boundaries, especially boundaries with a large-angle misorientation. Increasing evidence shows that lattice mismatch at the boundaries contributes to variations in oxygen and cation concentrations at the boundaries, while the strain field surrounding a dislocation core at the boundary suppresses the superconducting order parameter. Thus, understanding the structure of the grain boundary and the grain boundary dislocations (which describe the topology of the boundary) is essential in elucidating the superconducting characteristics of boundaries. Here, we discuss our study of the structure of a Σ5 grain boundary by transmission electron microscopy. The characterization of the structure of the boundary was based on the coincidence site lattice (CSL) model.Fig.l shows two-beam images of the grain boundary near the projection. An array of grain boundary dislocations, with spacings of about 30nm, is clearly visible in Fig. 1(a), but invisible in Fig. 1(b).

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Effect of thermal annealing on grain boundary chemistry of polycrystalline TiBa2Ca2Cu3Oy films

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100172577 ◽

1994 ◽

Vol 52 ◽

pp. 968-969

Author(s):

Z. L. Wang ◽

C. L. Briant ◽

J. DeLuca ◽

A. Goyal ◽

D. M. Kroeger ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Grain Boundary ◽

Weak Link ◽

Zero Field ◽

Stabilized Zirconia ◽

Local Texture ◽

Transmission Electron ◽

Axis Alignment ◽

Boundary Chemistry ◽

Small Misorientation ◽

Misorientation Angles

Recent studies have shown that spray-pyrolyzed films of the Tl-1223 compound (TlxBa2Ca2Cu3Oy, with 0.7 < × < 0.95) on polycrystalline yttrium stabilized zirconia substrates can be prepared which have critical current density Jc near 105 A/cm2 at 77 K, in zero field. The films are polycrystalline, have excellent c-axis alignment, and show little evidence of weak-link behavior. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) studies have shown that most grain boundaries have small misorientation angles. It has been found that the films have a nigh degree of local texture indicative of colonies of similarly oriented grains. It is believed that inter-colony conduction is enhanced by a percolative network of small angle boundaries at colony interfaces. It has also been found that Jc is increased by a factor of 4 - 5 after the films were annealed at 600 °C in oxygen. This study is thus carried out to determine the effect on grain boundary chemistry of the heat treatment.

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A Proposal to Establish Standardized Learning Outcomes for Resonance Across Graduate Programs in Speech-Language Pathology

Perspectives on Speech Science and Orofacial Disorders ◽

10.1044/ssod24.1.21 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 24 (1) ◽

pp. 21-26

Author(s):

Helen M. Sharp ◽

Mary O'Gara

Keyword(s):

Learning Outcomes ◽

Training Programs ◽

Graduate Training ◽

Graduate Programs ◽

Core Knowledge ◽

Speech Language Pathology ◽

Entry Level ◽

The Public ◽

Language Pathology ◽

Graduate Training Programs

The Council for Clinical Certification in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology (CCFC) sets accreditation standards and these standards list broad domains of knowledge with specific coverage of “the appropriate etiologies, characteristics, anatomical/physiological, acoustic, psychological, developmental, and linguistic and cultural correlates” and assessment, intervention, and methods of prevention for each domain” (CCFC, 2013, “Standard IV-C”). One domain in the 2014 standards is “voice and resonance.” Studies of graduate training programs suggest that fewer programs require coursework in cleft palate, the course in which resonance was traditionally taught. The purpose of this paper is to propose a standardized learning outcomes specific to resonance that would achieve the minimum knowledge required for all entry-level professionals in speech-language pathology. Graduate programs and faculty should retain flexibility and creativity in how these learning outcomes are achieved. Shared learning objectives across programs would serve programs, faculty, students, accreditation site visitors, and the public in assuring that a consistent, minimum core knowledge is achieved across graduate training programs. Proficiency in the management of individuals with resonance disorders would require additional knowledge and skills.

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