Hasil untuk "Special aspects of education"

Sarab N. Fadhil

Background: The perinatal period is shaped by biopsychosocial factors, including biological changes, psychological stressors, and social determinants like socioeconomic status and support systems. These factors collectively impact maternal and neonatal health. While individual aspects have been studied, research on their combined effects, particularly in local contexts, remains limited. This study aimed to determine the influence of biopsychosocial factors on pregnant women’s well-being during the perinatal period. This research seeks to fill a gap in current knowledge and provide insights that can improve healthcare strategies and maternal-child health outcomes. Materials and Methods: A descriptive study was conducted from February to April with 100 pregnant women attending obstetrics clinics in Baghdad, Iraq. Data was collected through face-to-face interviews using a structured questionnaire covering demographic, reproductive, biological, psychological, and social factors. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS version 26. Results: Social factors (age 25–29, education, social support, and planned pregnancy) significantly affected pregnant women. Most participants had physical issues, but these did not significantly impact adverse maternal outcomes, except for pregnancy weight gain (P = 0.000). Psychological factors showed moderate concern (64%) and were highly associated with adverse outcomes (P = 0.000). Conclusion: This study underscores the importance of considering biopsychosocial factors in perinatal care. The findings highlight the need for targeted healthcare interventions that address these factors to improve maternal and neonatal health outcomes.

Bayu Setiaji, Pramudya Wahyu Pradana, Febrina Siska Widyaningtyas et al.

In this paper, we describe a presentation on the physics of Gudeg, a traditional food from Indonesia specifically originated in the Special District of Yogyakarta. This learning context is designed for the high school physics curricula. The physics presentation focuses on the making processes of Gudeg. Qualitative interviews with Gudeg makers were carried out by the researchers to thematize the process of making Gudeg and highlight its educational connections for the physics learning. Five extracted learning themes are how the density concept behind peeling the jackfruit skin (main Gudeg ingredient), how the relation between the Youngs modulus concept and the jackfruit sections, how the texture-torque experiment of the sweet and tasty gudeg, how the effect of boiling mechanism on the texture of the jackfruit, and how the conduction and convection of the preserved Gudeg. Using our learning strategy which is so-called Collaborative Project based Teaching, we provide simple experimentations and demonstrations of the physical concepts behind these Gudeg processes that are promising for conceptual physics learning by managing triple educational roles between teachers, students, and Gudeg practitioners. This approach can be generally adopted beyond physics to promote the excitement of traditional knowledge which can enhance pedagogical approach in educational setting.

Andreas Nygaard, Steen Hannestad, Thomas Tram

Understanding how cosmological parameters influence the cosmic microwave background (CMB) power spectra is a central component of modern cosmology education, but interactive exploration is often limited by computational cost or technical complexity. We present CosmoSlider, a lightweight visualization tool that enables real-time exploration of CMB power spectra as multiple cosmological parameters are varied simultaneously. The tool employs a neural-network emulator implemented using TensorFlow Lite, allowing rapid evaluation of spectra without relying on large grids of precomputed models or on-demand execution of Einstein--Boltzmann solvers. CosmoSlider is available both as an iOS application and as a web-based tool, making it accessible across platforms and suitable for use in classrooms, lectures, and self-guided study. By providing immediate visual feedback, CosmoSlider supports the development of intuition for the physical processes underlying CMB anisotropies and serves as a complementary resource to traditional theoretical instruction.

Claudia Patricia Cosentino, Marcela Eva Lopez

Acorde a una línea de investigación cualitativa de corte narrativo, este trabajo presenta un primer análisis interpretativo de las narrativas de una profesora investigadora del área de formación docente en el Profesorado de Inglés de la Universidad nacional de Mar del Plata. Tomando como fuente su propio relato reflexivo y una entrevista en profundidad, el objeto del presente estudio es explorar cómo sus conocimientos y creencias evolucionan, desde una forma de existir dominante hacia una perspectiva de-colonial, y cómo esto influye en las prácticas formativas de las futuras generaciones docentes del profesorado, en la enseñanza de inglés como lengua otra. El relato de nuestra docente formadora revela rasgos de la ineludible influencia colonial en la propia biografía educativa, manifiesta una progresión gradual de su desarrollo y transformación profesional, y resalta el valor de-colonizador de la investigación narrativa.

Kaitlin Gili, Kyle Heuton, Astha Shah et al.

Advances in machine learning (ML) offer new possibilities for science education research. We report on early progress in the design of an ML-based tool to analyze students' mechanistic sensemaking, working from a coding scheme that is aligned with previous work in physics education research (PER) and amenable to recently developed ML classification strategies using language encoders. We describe pilot tests of the tool, in three versions with different language encoders, to analyze sensemaking evident in college students' written responses to brief conceptual questions. The results show, first, that the tool's measurements of sensemaking can achieve useful agreement with a human coder, and, second, that encoder design choices entail a tradeoff between accuracy and computational expense. We discuss the promise and limitations of this approach, providing examples as to how this measurement scheme may serve PER in the future. We conclude with reflections on the use of ML to support PER research, with cautious optimism for strategies of co-design between PER and ML.

IPPOG Collaboration

We present the International Particle Physics Outreach Group (IPPOG), a global network dedi- cated to connecting students, educators, and the general public with the world of particle physics. In this paper, we outline the need to bridge the existing gap between the particle physics community and the wider audience, and we present the solutions that IPPOG has implemented to overcome it through three pillar Activities: the International Masterclasses and the Global Cosmics hands-on activities network, which have engaged together over 200 000 high-school students to date, and the curation of an Outreach Resource Database and web portal.

Ahmad D. Suleiman, Yiming Tang, Daqing Hou

This research full paper investigates the factors influencing computing educators' adoption of project-based learning (PjBL) in software engineering and computing curricula. Recognized as a student-centered pedagogical approach, PjBL has the potential to enhance student motivation, engagement, critical thinking, collaboration, and problem-solving skills. Despite these benefits, faculty adoption remains inconsistent due to challenges such as insufficient institutional support, time constraints, limited training opportunities, designing or sourcing projects, and aligning them with course objectives. This research explores these barriers and investigates the strategies and resources that facilitate a successful adoption. Using a mixed-methods approach, data from 80 computing faculty were collected through an online survey comprising closed-ended questions to quantify barriers, enablers, and resource needs, along with an open-ended question to gather qualitative insights. Quantitative data were analyzed using statistical methods, while qualitative responses underwent thematic analysis. Results reveal that while PjBL is widely valued, its adoption is often selective and impacted by challenges in planning and managing the learning process, designing suitable projects, and a lack of institutional support, such as time, funding, and teaching assistants. Faculty are more likely to adopt or sustain PjBL when they have access to peer collaboration, professional development, and institutional incentives. In addition, sourcing projects from research, industry partnerships, and borrowing from peers emerged as key facilitators for new projects. These findings underscore the need for systemic support structures to empower faculty to experiment with and scale PjBL practices.

Barlian Kristanto, Diannike Putri, Le Huang Dung et al.

Vocabulary mastery is crucial for nursing students to effectively communicate in English. This study aimed to develop and validate a tailored computer-assisted vocabulary learning (CAVL) intervention to improve nursing students' retention of English lexicon, which is essential for healthcare communications. The CAVL program was designed using the Moodle platform and focused on four thematic units that targeted essential nursing vocabulary. The learning process followed research-based principles of vocabulary instruction, including multimodal introduction, reinforced retrieval, and contextual repetition. This study utilized a research and development methodology to conduct iterative needs analyses, design refinement, and rigorous evaluation protocols. Expert reviews, prototype testing, post-intervention vocabulary tests, and delayed assessments were used to gather data and make data-driven improvements. Quantitative analysis evaluated the effectiveness of this approach for 100 Indonesian nursing students. Vocabulary assessments were administered before, immediately after, and two weeks after the intervention, revealing significant improvements in terminology knowledge following the implementation of CAVL. Importantly, scores remained stable during the delayed assessment, demonstrating durable retention. These results are consistent with previous literature on the benefits of contextual and multimodal vocabulary learning. The CAVL prototype facilitated learning and effectively improved vocabulary retention outside of the classroom. This research provides an adaptable framework for technologically-assisted language mastery, which is essential for the next generation of nursing education. Further studies can explore the application of this framework in allied healthcare fields and the transition to practice in nursing education.

Christof Keebaugh, Emily Marshman, Chandralekha Singh

We examine students’ challenges in determining the number of distinct many-particle stationary states for a system of noninteracting identical particles, focusing on how these insights guided the design, validation, and evaluation of a quantum interactive learning tutorial (QuILT) to aid students’ understanding. Specifically, we focus on systems with a fixed number of available single-particle states and particles, where the total energy is not fixed. The QuILT is designed to provide scaffolding support to help students learn these complex concepts more effectively. This study was conducted in advanced quantum mechanics courses, where written questions were administered to students in class following traditional instruction on the relevant concepts. Additionally, individual interviews were conducted with students to gain deeper insights. Our findings reveal that both upper-level undergraduate and graduate students face similar challenges in understanding these concepts. Additionally, difficulty with basic concepts in combinatorics that are necessary to answer the questions correctly was also found. The QuILT offers scaffolding support to help undergraduate and graduate students systematically reason through these concepts.

Francesca Liga, Marco Cannavò, Federica Papa et al.

Understanding the variables that promote pro-environmental behaviors (PEBs) can be useful for sustainable development. Research has shown that several factors, including emotions, can influence PEBs. Eco-empathy and helplessness beliefs toward the environment (HBTE) can facilitate or discourage PEBs. To understand the role of these factors, it may be interesting to study their connection with different emotion regulation strategies suggested by Self-Determination Theory. The current study sought to test a model that could explain the associations of dysregulation, suppressive regulation, and integrative regulation with eco-empathy, HBTE, and PEBs. In a sample of 305 emerging adults, we found an association between integrative regulation and eco-empathy, dysregulation, and HBTE. The analyses revealed an indirect pathway from integrative regulation to PEBs through eco-empathy, suggesting the need to implement educational and informational programmes that consider the impact of emotional constraints on PEB implementation in the younger generation.

Forouzan Farzinnejad, Hadi Khezrian, Mohsen Kasiri et al.

The effectiveness of traditional communication techniques has declined in recent years, and marketing specialists are looking at more creative ways to engage consumers. A lot of attention has recently been paid to advergames, which are seen as an attractive new marketing tool to increase consumer engagement and education of brand awareness. The term advergame refers to games that combine brand advertising with gaming to promote business products. In this paper, we study the impact of music on consumer uptake of advergames (n=197). Our results show that music in advergames is an important feature because of its capability to attract audience, enhance their user experience and increase brand awareness.

Dou Du, Taylor J. Baird, Kristjan Eimre et al.

Interactive notebooks are a precious tool for creating graphical user interfaces and teaching materials. Python and Jupyter are becoming increasingly popular in this context, with Jupyter widgets at the core of the interactive functionalities. However, while packages and libraries which offer a broad range of general-purpose widgets exist, there is limited development of specialized widgets for computational physics, chemistry and materials science. This deficiency implies significant time investments for the development of effective Jupyter notebooks for research and education in these domains. Here, we present custom Jupyter widgets that we have developed to target the needs of these communities. These widgets constitute high-quality interactive graphical components and can be employed, for example, to visualize and manipulate data, or to explore different visual representations of concepts, clarifying the relationships existing between them. In addition, we discuss with one example how similar functionality can be exposed in the form of JupyterLab extensions, modifying the JupyterLab interface for an enhanced user experience when working with applications within the targeted scientific domains.

Qihong Sun, Shuangxiang Zhou, Ronghang Chen et al.

This paper outlines an alternative approach to teaching quantum computing at the high school level, tailored for students with limited prior knowledge in advanced mathematics and physics. This approach diverges from traditional methods by building upon foundational concepts in classical computing before gradually introducing quantum mechanics, thereby simplifying the entry into this complex field. The course was initially implemented in a program for gifted high school students under the Hong Kong Education Bureau and received encouraging feedback, indicating its potential effectiveness for a broader student audience. A key element of this approach is the practical application through portable NMR quantum computers, which provides students with hands-on experience. The paper describes the structure of the course, including the organization of the lectures, the integration of the hardware of the portable nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) quantum computers, the Gemini/Triangulum series, and detailed lecture notes in an appendix. The initial success in the specialized program and ongoing discussions to expand the course to regular high schools in Hong Kong and Shenzhen suggest the viability of this approach for wider educational application. By focusing on accessibility and student engagement, this approach presents a valuable perspective on introducing quantum computing concepts at the high school level, aiming to enhance student understanding and interest in the field.

Anders

This article presents experiences of using selected aspects of Nature of Science as guidelines for inclusive science education in biology at the upper-secondary level in the Swedish school system. First, the purpose and background of the project is described, along with a discussion on inclusive science education and the specific interpretation of Nature of Science used. Then, some concrete examples of tasks and teaching strategies used are provided. Finally, an evaluation of the project is presented, based on students’ experiences and findings from a questionnaire, and the experiences are discussed in relation to the purpose of the project. As no comparisons have been made, it is not possible to claim that this teaching is more inclusive, or better in any other regard, as compared to any other teaching. Hopefully, however, the text can provide inspiration and a basis for further development work with a similar focus.

Fabrícia Souza da Silva, Augusto Fachín Terán, Priscila Eduarda Dessimoni Morhy et al.

Desenvolver práticas de sensibilização ambiental na formação de pequenos estudantes é essencial para despertar o interesse para as problemáticas ambientais. O objetivo da proposta apresentada foi sensibilizar crianças pequenas da Educação Infantil sobre a importância da Tartaruga-da-Amazônia (Podocnemis expansa) para o ecossistema aquático amazônico. A pesquisa apresenta uma abordagem qualitativa, participante, tendo como lócus um Centro Municipal de Educação Infantil localizados na Zona Norte de Manaus e o Centro de Estudos dos Quelônios da Amazônia (CEQUA). Os sujeitos participantes foram 20 (vinte) crianças do segundo período da Educação Infantil. A técnica utilizada para produzir os dados foi a sequência didática, estruturada em oficinas de sensibilização ambiental. Os dados foram interpretados e analisados por meio da Análise de Conteúdo de Bardin. Os resultados evidenciam que trabalhar a sensibilização ambiental nas séries iniciais da educação básica é essencial para formar nas crianças uma consciência ecológica, possibilitando mudanças de hábitos e atitudes. Através da sequência didática, conseguimos sensibilizar as crianças sobre a importância da Tartaruga-da-Amazônia, bem como alertar sobre outros problemas ambientais, como a poluição dos rios, a caça predatória e ameaça de extinção de outras espécies da fauna amazônica.

Villegas Jhonnel P., Bauyot Mary Fil M., Sacro Jeralyn H. et al.

Many countries across the globe, including the Philippines, have implemented Gender and Development (GAD) policies to reduce gender biases and promote equality. However, mainstreaming efforts have been challenging due to the scarce availability of learning resources in the local context. This study is an initiative to provide the GAD Focal Point System (GFPS) in the Department of Education – City of Mati with a primary reference in training their GAD Focal Persons on Gender Sensitivity, GAD Planning, and Budgeting (GPB). The coverage is based on their learning needs and gaps determined through participatory strategies involving the school administrators, teachers, students, and parents. Also, the results of the gender audit using the Gender Mainstreaming Evaluation Framework (GMEF) are used as a baseline in module development. The framework presents strategic directions that agencies need to follow to advance across stages. It was found that Mati’s primary and secondary schools are in the initial stages of gender mainstreaming. As such, GAD’s basic concepts and definitions are introduced, along with various forms of gender-based violence and the appropriate mechanisms to address them aptly. The essential steps in planning and budgeting are also detailed, providing an active experience among the participants. It is imperative to sustain GAD capacity-building initiatives to catalyze a more directed and engaged policy framework.

Xuansheng Wu, Xinyu He, Tianming Liu et al.

Developing models to automatically score students' written responses to science problems is critical for science education. However, collecting and labeling sufficient student responses for training models is time and cost-consuming. Recent studies suggest that pre-trained language models can be adapted to downstream tasks without fine-tuning with prompts. However, no research has employed such a prompt approach in science education. As student responses are presented with natural language, aligning the scoring procedure as the next sentence prediction task using prompts can skip the costly fine-tuning stage. In this study, we developed a zero-shot approach to automatically score student responses via Matching Exemplars as Next Sentence Prediction (MeNSP). This approach employs no training samples. We first apply MeNSP in scoring three assessment tasks of scientific argumentation and found machine-human scoring agreements, Cohen's Kappa ranges from 0.30 to 0.57, and F1 score ranges from 0.54 to 0.81. To improve the performance, we extend our research to the few-shots setting, either randomly selecting labeled student responses or manually constructing responses to fine-tune the models. We find that one task's performance is improved with more samples, Cohen's Kappa from 0.30 to 0.38, and F1 score from 0.54 to 0.59; for the two others, scoring performance is not improved. We also find that randomly selected few-shots perform better than the human expert-crafted approach. This study suggests that MeNSP can yield referable automatic scoring for student responses while significantly reducing the cost of model training. This method can benefit low-stakes classroom assessment practices in science education. Future research should further explore the applicability of the MeNSP in different types of assessment tasks in science education and improve the model performance.

Diego Ramírez, Eugenio J. Guzman-Lavın, Javier Pulgar et al.

Group configurations play a pivotal role in shaping social skills and learning outcomes by fostering student interaction and collaboration. Yet, the factors influencing group formation, social cohesion, and group stability remain understudied. Here, we examine these factors in a cohort of 90 students from 9th and 10th grades at a private school in Chile. Students were either randomly assigned to groups (control) or allowed to choose their own groups (experimental) for a semester-long project. Our results show that self-selected groups had stronger friendship ties by the end of the semester. In contrast, randomly assigned groups exhibited higher levels of cooperation and more frequent membership changes, indicating weaker social cohesion. Additionally, 10th-grade students were more likely to stay in their original groups, possibly suggesting increased social maturity. These findings underscore the ongoing challenge in education of balancing student choice in group formation with the need for diverse group compositions that enhance learning. The study provides actionable insights for educators.

Ponkoj Chandra Shill, Rui Wu, Hossein Jamali et al.

This paper presents a work-in-progress on a learn-ing system that will provide robotics students with a personalized learning environment. This addresses both the scarcity of skilled robotics instructors, particularly in community colleges and the expensive demand for training equipment. The study of robotics at the college level represents a wide range of interests, experiences, and aims. This project works to provide students the flexibility to adapt their learning to their own goals and prior experience. We are developing a system to enable robotics instruction through a web-based interface that is compatible with less expensive hardware. Therefore, the free distribution of teaching materials will empower educators. This project has the potential to increase the number of robotics courses offered at both two- and four-year schools and universities. The course materials are being designed with small units and a hierarchical dependency tree in mind; students will be able to customize their course of study based on the robotics skills they have already mastered. We present an evaluation of a five module mini-course in robotics. Students indicated that they had a positive experience with the online content. They also scored the experience highly on relatedness, mastery, and autonomy perspectives, demonstrating strong motivation potential for this approach.

Otmane Ait Ouarasse, Mohamed Essaid Gourani

The present paper tests a long-overlooked aspect of the association between school management and student mental health. Specifically, the question asked is whether and to what extent quality of information services is associated with students’ feelings of loneliness. Research on this relationship is almost inexistent—most probably because of the rather narrow conceptual framework within which loneliness research has been carried out. The present study attempts to fill this gap by looking at loneliness from a different conceptual angle, that of alienation, and from there to test a couple of hypotheses: (i) the significance of the relationship between quality of information services and student loneliness and (ii) the protective role of quality of informal student networks. Data from 439 undergraduate students from a Moroccan institution of higher education were used for the purpose. Both hypotheses were confirmed. Quality of information services, which a sweeping majority of students (64.2%) rated as unsatisfactory, was negatively associated with feelings of loneliness (β = -.17**, p < .01). To test the protective role of quality of student networks, a moderation analysis was conducted. Quality of student networks proved a significant moderator. Results and implication for educational management and future research directions are discussed.