scholarly journals An outside-the-box activity to demonstrate how humans and animals turn

2019 ◽  
Vol 43 (3) ◽  
pp. 282-287 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas K. Bye ◽  
Kathryn R. Carter ◽  
David R. Carrier ◽  
Steven J. Elmer

Developing hands-on activities that engage and excite K–12 students is critical for stimulating interest in science-based careers. We created an activity for high school students that required them to integrate biology and physics concepts to experience how humans and animals maneuver through their environments (i.e., turning). Understanding how turning works is important because it accounts for up to 50% of daily walking steps and is needed for survival when animals elude predators and capture prey. For this activity, student groups used 2 × 4 lumber, wood screws, and a power drill to build an apparatus that, when connected to the body, altered rotational inertia (object’s resistance to change in angular motion, I = mass × radius2). Students navigated through a slalom course with the apparatus (increased radius and rotational inertia) and without the apparatus (mass-matched control). Times to complete the course were compared between trials to determine the influence of rotational inertia on turning performance. Students compiled their data, graphed their results, and found that increased rotational inertia decreased turning performance. Results were connected to sports, rehabilitation, and dinosaur evolution. This activity was implemented during local, regional, national, and international outreach events and adapted for use in undergraduate courses as well (total impact, 250 students). At the end of the activity, students were able to 1) describe whether their results supported their hypothesis; 2) explain how radius influences rotational inertia and turning performance; and 3) apply results to real-world examples. Students and teachers appreciated this “outside-the-box” activity with an engineering twist and found it entertaining.

2009 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 83-104 ◽  
Author(s):  
Phitsamay Uy

In the world of K–12 education, the growing numbers of dropouts are a major concern. This article examines the dropout rates of Chinese and Vietnamese high school students. Using logistic regression analysis, this article examines the influence of ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomic status (SES) on dropout rates. The distinct contribution of this analysis lies within the intraethnic comparisons within the Asian American student population and its use of longitudinal data. The results of the study support existing research that gender and SES are related to dropout rates. Moreover, an interesting interaction between ethnicity and SES exists.


2021 ◽  
pp. 097135572110256
Author(s):  
Eric Joseph van Holm

Makerspaces have grown over the last two decades and provide a potentially important resource to entrepreneurs. One area where the expansion of makerspaces has been the largest is in educational settings, at both K-12 schools and colleges. However, scant research to date has analysed whether students visiting a makerspace have any relationship with their professional goals or intentions. This study uses a survey conducted in New Orleans to analyse the predictors of what students use a makerspace, and the potential relationship visiting may have with entrepreneurial intent. The analysis finds that students with a higher socio-economic status appear to use makerspaces more often, and that students who visited makerspaces are more likely to express interest in starting their own businesses.


AI Matters ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 4-4
Author(s):  
Iolanda Leite ◽  
Anuj Karpatne

Welcome to the first issue of this year's AI Matters Newsletter! We start with a report on upcoming SIGAI Events by Dilini Samarasinghe and Conference reports by Louise Dennis, our conference coordination officers. In our regular Education column, Duri Long, Jonathan Moon, and Brian Magerko introduce two "unplugged" activities (i.e., no technology needed) to learn about AI focussed on K-12 AI Education. We then bring you our regular Policy column, where Larry Medsker covers several topics on AI policy, including the role of Big Tech on AI Ethics and an interview with Dr. Eric Daimler who is the CEO of the MIT-spinout Conexus.com. Finally, we close with four article contributions. The first article discusses emerging applications of AI in analyzing source code and its implications to several industries. The second article discusses topics in the area of physical scene understanding that are necessary for machines to perceive, interact, and reason about the physical world. The third article presents novel practices and highlights from the Fourth Workshop on Mechanism Design for Social Good. The fourth article provides a report on the "Decoding AI" event that was conducted online by ViSER for high school students and adults sponsored by ACM SIGAI.


2015 ◽  
Vol 115 (2) ◽  
pp. 214-228 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicole Healy ◽  
Elana Joram ◽  
Oksana Matvienko ◽  
Suzanne Woolf ◽  
Kimberly Knesting

Purpose – There is a growing need for school-based nutritional educational programs that promote healthy eating attitudes without increasing an unhealthy focus on restrictive eating or promoting a poor body image. Research suggests that intuitive eating (IE) approaches, which encourage individuals to focus on internal body signals as a guide for eating, have had a positive impact on eating-related psychological outcomes in adults. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects an IE education program on the eating attitudes of high school students. Design/methodology/approach – In a quasi-experimental study, 48 high school students (30 females) in a Midwest town in the USA received instruction on IE or a comparison program over seven days during health classes. Repeated measures analyses of covariance were conducted to examine changes in eating attitudes in sexes across conditions. Findings – Students who received the IE program made significantly greater gains in overall positive eating attitudes on the Intuitive Eating Scale than students in the comparison program (p=0.045), as well as on the Unconditional Permission to Eat subscale (p=0.02). There were no significant effects of sex on any of the analyses. Research limitations/implications – Because of the relatively small sample size and short duration of the program, the results should be generalized with caution. Practical implications – The results suggest that IE instruction may encourage the development of healthy eating attitudes in high school students, and health teachers may wish to consider including IE instruction in the health curriculum. Originality/value – This is the first study to examine the effectiveness of an IE program in a K-12 population, with instruction provided in the context of the school. The results are promising and suggest that this may be a fruitful area for future research in nutrition education.


Author(s):  
Stanley Lesmana ◽  
Riyadh Ikhsan ◽  
Azriya Azka

Background: AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome) is a collection of symptoms or diseases caused by a decrease in the immune system from the body due to infection from the HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) which belongs to the retroviridae family. Teenagers themselves are vulnerable to HIV/AIDS. The right and precise knowledge of HIV and AIDS is important in HIV prevention efforts in adolescents. Method: This research is a descriptive research with cross-sectional design. The sample population of this study was grade XII senior high school students of the 2020/2021 at Methodist – 2 Medan by sampling total sampling. This study was analyzed univariately to look at the descriptive images. Result: From the results of this study, it has obtained that the knowledge level of students grade XII Methodist - 2 Medan had good knowledge about HIV / AIDS with the number of 144 people (70.6%). Conclusion: From this study, it was found that the level of knowledge about HIV/AIDS was mostly in a good category.  


2019 ◽  
Vol 72 (9) ◽  
pp. 1740-1746
Author(s):  
Anita Bielawska ◽  
Katarzyna Tomczyk ◽  
Beata Łabuz-Roszak

Introduction: Dietary trends such as consumption of lactose-free and gluten-free products or the use of alternative slimming diets are gaining increasing popularity, especially among young people. They determine their dietary choices, which are important from the point of view of human health. Unconventional diets are still considered as effective weight loss methods. The use of alternative diets may cause shortages of an essential nutrients, increase the risk of chronic non-communicable diseases and lead to the formation of incorrect eating habits. Balanced diet, in contrast to the alternative diet, takes into account the principles of rational nutrition and nutritional recommendations of the Institute of Food and Nutrition (IŻŻ). The aim: To investigate the influence of popular dietary trends on nutrition of high school adolescences. Material and methods: Subjects were adolescences in the age of 17-21 years attending high schools in Ruda Slaska (262 students, including 157 women and 105 men). Self-constructed questionnaire was applied in the study. Participation in the study was anonymous and voluntary. Results: In more than a half of young women (54,8%) and men (52,4%) the body mass deficiency was revealed (BMI<18 kg/m2). 33,6% of the respondents were on the non-balanced diets at least once in their lives. High school students knew gluten-free and lactose-free products but dietary trends, such as the consumption of gluten-free and lactose-free products, did not affect their diet. The main source of nutritional knowledge among respondents were their friends (78,2%). Conclusions: The results of the conducted research indicate the need to implement educational programs on the principles of proper nutrition. The increasing awareness of theyouth in this regard may contribute to reducing the interest in still popular alternative diets among young people and taking appropriate health behaviors by them.


2013 ◽  
pp. 209-221
Author(s):  
Lisbeth Amhag

The study focuses on strategies for how online course outlines can be designed to improve the use of collaborative peer feedback in distance education and how distance students can learn to use argumentation processes as a tool for learning. For ten weeks, 30 student teachers studied the web-based 15 credit course Teacher Assignment. Data was collected from five student groups’ asynchronous argumentation, relating to authentic cases of teacher leadership. Focus was placed on the extent to which students used own and others' texts meaning content in the discussion forum and how the content can be analysed. A close investigation of the dialogical argument patterns (N=253) in their peer feedback shows the extent to which students distinguish, identify, and describe the meaning content that emerges in collaboration with other students in an online setting as an important aspect. The dialogue patterns that developed are illustrated in selected excerpts.


2014 ◽  
Vol 116 (7) ◽  
pp. 1-35 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael A. Gottfried ◽  
Robert Bozick ◽  
Sinduja V. Srinivasan

Background/Context Educational policymakers and researchers are concerned about the declining quantity and quality of U.S. students in line to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. As one policy response, a number of federal initiatives have been enacted to enhance STEM curriculum in schools. Part of this push has been to offer applied STEM courses in the K–12 curriculum to reinforce academic STEM material as well as motivate students to remain in these fields. Prior to this current study, no national-level research has evaluated the effectiveness of these courses. Purpose (a) What applied STEM courses are most commonly taken by high school students? (b) To what extent are high school students taking both academic math courses and applied STEM courses? (c) Do applied STEM courses in high school improve achievement in math? Participants To address the three research questions listed above, this study relies on a comprehensive longitudinal dataset: the Education Longitudinal Survey (ELS:2002). The present study is based on a sample of approximately 11,112 students who participated in the base-year (10th grade, 2002) and first follow-up (12th grade 2004) interviews, who completed math assessments in both years, and for whom valid transcript information was collected. Research Design This study begins with a descriptive analysis to evaluate which students have taken applied STEM courses and at which ability level. From this, a common set of applied STEM courses is determined across this nationally representative dataset. Next, this study relies on a linear regression model of math achievement where the dependent variable is a standardized math score. Independent covariates include measures as to whether or not a student had taken applied STEM courses, academic math courses taken by the student, and a range of controls. Findings Students who take an applied STEM course had higher math scores than their peers who did not take an applied STEM course, all else equal. These courses may be particularly beneficial for those students who are less oriented toward advanced math. Conclusions/Recommendations Applied STEM courses can be used to support learning in math instructed elsewhere in the curriculum, particularly for those students at the lower end of the math pipeline. In providing hands-on learning, often with technology and with direct application to concrete occupationally specific problems, applied STEM courses may serve as a critical means to support an understanding of concepts taught in lower level math pipeline courses.


2019 ◽  
Vol 121 (9) ◽  
pp. 1-34
Author(s):  
Breanne K. Litts ◽  
Sari A. Widman ◽  
Debora A. Lui ◽  
Justice T. Walker ◽  
Yasmin B. Kafai

Background/Context Though the maker movement has proliferated in out-of-school settings, there remains a design challenge of how to effectively integrate maker activities into K–12 classrooms. In other contexts, though, creative design and production have historically been successfully integrated in classrooms through studio models common to the arts, architecture, and engineering. Purpose/Objective In this paper, we leverage the features and practices of studio models from arts, architecture, and engineering education to integrate maker activities in a high school classroom. Within this Maker Studio model, students focus on designing a computational artifact and engage in practices more predominantly found in studio arts, architecture, and engineering classes such as feedback, critique, and reflection. Research Design We conducted a case study of how a class of 23 high school students participating in a STEM elective class in teams partnered with art students to develop an interactive installation. Our analyses focus on how the structure of the feedback, critique, and reflections in the Maker Studio informed and shaped students’ design processes. Conclusions We discuss affordances and implications of recognizing studio practices (particularly critique) as design features of maker activities, especially in high school classroom contexts, and present the Maker Studio as a viable model for integration of maker activities in classroom environments. We also characterize key features of the Maker Studio model, including the following: appreciation and support for maker processes in addition to or even above final products, integration of various structures for giving and receiving critique throughout the design process, support for interdisciplinary and collaborative project work, and engagement with diverse perspectives and expertise during critiques.


2021 ◽  
pp. 147821032110630
Author(s):  
Paul Bruno ◽  
Colleen M Lewis

Little is known about the extent to which expansions of K-12 computer science (CS) have been equitable for students of different racial backgrounds and gender identities. Using longitudinal course-level data from all high schools in California between the 2003–2004 and 2018–2019 school years we find that 79% of high school students in California, including majorities of all racial groups, are enrolled in schools that offer CS, up from 45% in 2003. However, while male and female students are equally likely to attend schools that offer CS courses, CS courses represent a much smaller share of course enrollments for female students than for male students. Non-Asian students enroll in relatively few CS courses, and this is particularly true for Black, Hispanic, and Native American students. Race gaps in CS participation are to a substantial degree explicable in terms of access gaps, but gender gaps in CS participation are not. Different groups of students have access to CS teachers with similar observable qualifications, but CS teachers remain predominantly white and male. Consequently, white and male CS students are much more likely than other students to have same-race or same-gender instructors. Our findings and the implications we draw for practice will be of interest to administrators and policymakers who, over and above needing to ensure equitable access to CS courses for students, need to attend carefully to equity-related course participation and staffing considerations.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document