פרסומים אחרונים עמוד ניסיון – הפקולטה לחינוך למדע וטכנולוגיה

Greater functional connectivity within the cingulo-opercular and ventral attention networks is related to better fluent reading: A resting-state functional connectivity study

Lidan Freedman, Michal Zivan, Rola Farah, Tzipi Horowitz-Kraus

Abstract

Executive functions are higher-order cognitive abilities that affect many of our daily actions, including reading. A two-system model for cognitive control comprises a bottom-up system composed of the dorsal and ventral attention networks and a more evolved top-down system involving the frontoparietal and cingulo-opercular networks. We examined both within- and between-network functional connectivity of these four networks in 26 8-12-year-old children with readong difficulties and 30 age-matched typical readers using resting-state functional MRI. Fluency and nonfluency behavioral reading measures were collected, and the scores were analyzed together with the functional data. Children with reading difficulties did not differ in functional connectivity for the four networks compared to typical readers. Grouping the entire cohort into low vs. high fluency-level reading groups, however, revealed significantly higher functional connectivity values within the cingulo-opercular and ventral attention cognitive-control networks for the high fluency group. Higher functional connectivity Trends between the cognitive-control networks were also observed in the high fluency group compared to the low fluency group. A similar analysis using a nonfluency word-reading task grouping did not uncover differences between the two groups. The results emphasize the complexity of the fluency task, as a test that relies on cognitive-control abilities, at both the bottom-up and top-down levels. Therefore, it may be posited that the fluency task may also be a challenge for typical readers despite their intact performance. The results reinforce the relationship between fluent reading and functional connectivity of the cognitive-control networks, emphasizing the various cognitive-control abilities that underlie this complex reading ability.

Inequity and Cultural Differences in Out-of-School Science Education: The Case of the Arab Minority in Israel

Tali Tal

Abstract

This paper examines the gap between Jewish and Arab students in Israel in the context of learning in informal environments. I attempted to understand whether the difference is a matter of inequity in terms of resource allocation and opportunities provided to the schools. I present the socio-historical-political context and the current situation, based on formal documents. To gain an insiders’ views, I interviewed five Arab science educators and an Arab superintendent. These conversations highlighted the cultural aspect of the gap and a cultural change toward integrating more learning opportunities in out-of-school environments. Using Gutiérrez and Rogoff (2003), rather than taking a deficit view, repertoires of practice is suggested to understand differences. Several implications relevant to other places where different cultural groups live and where educational and social practices affect the ways people use out-of-school time and resources are offered.

Engaging the hands, heads, and hearts in a medical simulation informal learning environment

Tali Tal, Sameer Dallashe

Abstract

We investigated the characteristics of a medical simulation‐based informal learning environment (MSBE) of a science center—an environment not yet studied—to understand its uniqueness and its impact on visiting students. In the MSBE, students interact with, and operate, sophisticated simulators which demonstrate a range of medical situations. Visiting students comprised mainly high school students, who do not commonly visit science centers. They included Jewish and Arab students of diverse socioeconomic statuses. Data collection in this mixed‐method study comprised pre‐post open‐ended views and content questionnaires, a semantic difference survey and interviews. To scrutinize student learning and attitude change, we compared the visiting students with a comparison group who did not visit the MSBE. The MSBE enabled mainly collaborative and active/hands‐on learning that helped students visualize and experience abstract ideas and yielded a variety of learning outcomes. We present evidence that the students improved their attitudes toward biology and medicine and improved their understanding of biological principles related to the human body. Addressing both museum learning literature and literature on different types of scientific and health literacies, we highlight the value to student engagement and learning of this unique medical simulation learning environment.

Interrelations between systems thinking and abstract thinking: the case of high-school electronics students

Aharon Gero, Aziz Shekh-Abed, Orit Hazzan

Abstract

Systems thinking and abstract thinking are important skills for engineers in general and hardware and software engineers in particular. Systems thinking emphasises the interdependence of system components and their synergy. Abstract thinking permits one to focus on the significant details of the current perspective, while temporarily neglecting the less relevant details of the stage in question. So far, systems thinking and abstract thinking have each been characterised separately, but a possible relation between them has not yet been examined. The study described in the paper explored the interrelations between systems thinking and abstract thinking among high-school students executing their final project. In the study, which used quantitative and qualitative tools, participated 239 Israeli twelve graders majoring in electronics. The findings indicate a significant moderate positive correlation between systems thinking and abstract thinking. The systems thinker and the abstract thinker share common cognitive characteristics, but differ in features related to knowledge and background, and interpersonal skills.

A cultural perspective to project-based learning and the cultivation of innovative thinking

Miri Barak, Shiran Yuan

Abstract

Studies on higher-order thinking skills advocate the importance of cultivating innovative thinking through project-based learning (PBL); yet, little attention was paid to students’ cultural background. Given the increase in international student mobility, the aim of this study was to examine the role of PBL in cultivating innovative thinking as perceived by international students from China and by local students. The participants studied the same PBL course, delivered by the same teaching staff, but in separate classrooms. Applying a mixed methods case study design, data were collected through pre- and post-questionnaires and focus-group interviews. The findings indicated that although the PBL process had a positive influence on cultivating students’ perceived innovative thinking in both groups, differences were found in behaviors that lead to the generation of innovative ideas. The Chinese students identified gains associated with behaviors of Observing and Questioning; whereas the local students identified gains associated with Idea Networking. The study presents a five-stage innovation cultivation PBL process that can be adapted to higher education programs, highlighting the need for cultural-sensitivity in designing and delivering courses for international students.

Equalizing Data Science Curriculum for Computer Science Pupils

Koby Mike, Tamir Hazan, Orit Hazzan

Abstract

Data science is a new interdisciplinary field of research that focuses on extracting value from data. As an interdisciplinary science it integrates knowledge and methods from computer science, mathematics and statistics, and the domain knowledge of the data. As data science is still forming as a domain, several points of view exist on how to teach data science. The curriculum of many undergraduate data science programs includes advanced knowledge and skills in mathematics, statistics, computer science, and one or more data domains. Several initiatives for designing high school data science curricula have emerged recently. Since it is unrealistic to teach all the above-mentioned advanced topics at the high school level, the high school data science curriculum focuses on a broad understanding of the data science workflow rather than on mathematical and algorithmic details that characterize undergraduate programs. High school computer science pupils, however, are expected to have a deep understanding of algorithms, as algorithms are the heart of computer science. In this paper, we present our attempt to adapt a data science course to computer science high school pupils that incorporates both a broad view on data science and data workflow, as well as deep understanding of data processing algorithms and specifically, machine learning. This course is taught for 10th grade computer science pupils in an Israeli public school, and was also taught in a summer workshop for computer science teachers.

Mathematics for Computer Science: A Flipped Classroom with an Optional Project

Yehudit Judy Dori, Zehavit Kohen, Brian Rizowy

Abstract

The Mathematics for Computer Science mandatory course was conducted in a flipped classroom (FC) setting with an optional, voluntary, project-based learning (PBL) component. The objective of this study was to examine the effect of studying in an FC setting, with and without PBL, on students’ problem-solving performance, conceptual understanding, and affective perceptions. Participants were 374 undergraduate freshmen and sophomores, of whom 20% elected to participate in an optional probability PBL. The most significant finding was the reinforcement of collaboration, as reflected by teamwork on problem solving during the FC class time. The PBL students demonstrated an advantage in their performance over their peers in probability—the topic they explored, and in their positive responses regarding studying in the FC setting, with an emphasis on the collaborative learning component. The research demonstrates the importance of active engagement in a technology-based environment in which STEM undergraduate students solve problems and implement projects.

Engagement styles in an environmental citizen science project

Yaela Naomi Golumbic, Ayelet Baram-Tsabari, Barak Fishbain

Abstract

This paper identifies the diverse ways in which participants engage with science, through the same citizen science project. Using multiple data sources, we describe various activities conducted by citizen scientists in an air quality project, and characterize the motivations driving their engagement. Findings reveal several themes, indicative of participants motivations and engagement; worried residents, education and outreach, environmental action, personal interest and opportunistic engagement. The study further illustrates the interconnectivity between science communication and citizen science practices and calls for nurturing this relationship for the mutual advancement of both fields.

Valued Actions and Identities of Giftedness in a Mathematical Camp

Einat Heyd-Metzuyanim, Rachel Hess-Green

Abstract

This study follows a mathematical camp for high-school students identified as gifted, and examines it with a socio-cultural lens. Our goal is to examine the identities of students in the camp and the valued actions according to which these identities were authored, both by the students and by their instructors. Data was collected from three rounds of summer camp sessions and included recordings of lessons, staff meetings, and ceremonies. Findings point to identities of competent or “gifted” participants being evaluated according to the valued actions of quickness and ease in problem-solving, “brilliant” ideas or questions, persistence and coping with challenges, and intensive engagement with mathematics, beyond the official requirements of the camp. They also suggest that most of these valued actions were only implicitly communicated in the camp, although some of them, for example writing correctly and justifying statements logically, were stated explicitly. We focus on one student, Jasmine, who was identified as particularly gifted. We examine an episode of fierce mathematical argumentation between her and the instructor (2nd author), and the identifications that accompanied it, relating them to the valued actions in the camp. We discuss the findings with relation to existing literature on the identification and education of mathematically talented youth.

STEM Graduate Students’ Systems Thinking, Modeling and Scientific Understanding-The Case of Food Production

Effrat Akiri, Marina Tal, Roee Peretz, Dov Dori, Yehudit Judy Dori

חשיבה מערכתית – מידול והבנה מדעית בקרב סטודנטים לתארים מתקדמים בדגש על ייצור מזון וקיימות

כישורי מידול קונספטואלי (Modeling), חשיבה מערכתית (Systems thinking) והבנה מדעית, הן מיומנויות הנחוצות לצורך הבנת תהליכים מורכבים כמו תהליכי ייצור מזון. מטרת המחקר הייתה להעריך את תרומתן של מיני-יחידות לימוד בנושאי מזון לכישורי החשיבה המערכתית, המידול וההבנה המדעית של סטודנטים לתארים מתקדמים הלומדים בפקולטה לחינוך בטכניון.

במחקר זה, שערכו אקירי, טל, פרץ, דורי ודורי (2020), מומחי STEM בנו מודלים קונספטואליים המתארים את ניטור הערכים התזונתיים בדגי קוד באמצעות שימוש במתודולוגיית עצם-תהליך (OPM). בהתבסס על מודלים אלו, פותחו ארבע מיני-יחידות לימוד מקוונות העוסקות בתהליכי ייצור מזון. משתתפי המחקר, 15 סטודנטים לתואר שני במקצועות ה-STEM, מורים או פרחי הוראה, ענו על יחידות הלימוד והכינו פרויקט סיום.
כלי המחקר כללו: קבוצת מיקוד של מומחי STEM, שאלוני מיני-יחידות הלימוד, פרויקט סיום ורפלקציות. כמו כן, פותחו ותוקפו מחוונים למידול קונספטואלי ולאוריינות. מצאנו הבדל מובהק בציוני החשיבה המערכתית והמידול בין משתתפים בעלי ניסיון במידול לבין משתתפים חסרי ניסיון כזה. לתפיסת המשתתפים, למידה בהקשר של ייצור מזון וקיימות תרמה לפיתוח כישורי המידול והחשיבה המערכתית שלהם. תרומת המחקר היא בשילוב בין יצור מזון ומידול קונספטואלי לצורך פיתוח כישורי חשיבה מערכתית, מידול והבנה מדעית של תהליכי מזון וקיימות בקרב מורי STEM.

Abstract

Modeling and systems thinking skills, as well as scientific understanding, are necessary for comprehending complex, food-related processes. The aim of this research was to evaluate the effect of food-related learning units on graduate students’ systems thinking and modeling skills, as well as on their understanding of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) issues. In this research, six STEM experts constructed a conceptual model of the codfish tracking process using Object-Process Methodology. Next, 15 STEM graduate students, who are prospective teachers, participated in a graduate course, which includes four online units on food production processes based on their respective models. Research tools included an expert focus group, student assignments, and questionnaires. Modeling and scientific understanding rubrics were adapted and validated for analysis of the assignments. We found a significant difference in the scores of systems thinking and modeling skills between students with modeling background and those without. Based of students’ feedback along the course, learning in context of food and sustainability also contributed to developing these skills. The contribution is the combination of food production and conceptual models for developing STEM teachers’ systems thinking and modeling skills, and their scientific understanding of food processes and sustainability issues.

Public Engagement With Science Among Religious Minorities: Lessons From COVID-19

Lea Taragin-Zeller, Yael Rozenblum, Ayelet Baram-Tsabari

Abstract

While scholars have highlighted how science communication reifies forms of structural inequality, especially race and gender, we examine the challenges science communication pose for religious minorities. Drawing on the disproportionate magnitude of COVID-19-related morbidity on Israel’s Ultra-Orthodox Jews, we examined their processes of COVID-19 health decision making. Survey results show that both religious and health-related justifications were common for personal decisions, yet a disparity was found between the ways social distancing guidelines were perceived in the general education context compared with the religious context, signaling the importance for inclusive models of science communication that account for religious sensibilities and state-minority relations.

Students’ Awareness and Embracement of Soft Skills by Learning and Practicing Teamwork

Noa Ragonis, Orit Hazzan, Gadi Har-Shai

Abstract

Aim/Purpose This paper presents a study about changes in computer science and software engineering students’ perceptions of their soft skills during their progress through the Computer Science Soft Skills course. Background Soft skills are often associated with a person’s social, emotional and cognitive capabilities. Soft skills are increasingly sought out and are well recognized by employers alongside standard qualifications. Therefore, high importance is attributed to soft skills in computer science and software engineering education. Methodology Content analysis was applied to interpret, categorize and code statements from students’ course assignment answers. Data analysis was performed gradually at the three main stages of the course and by the two students’ study populations. Contribution The paper highlights the variety of (a) soft skills that can be learnt in one course, both on the individual level and on the team level and (b) assignments that can be given to students to increase their awareness and motivation to practice and learn soft skills. Findings Data analysis revealed the following: (a) five individual soft skills categories, with 95 skills, and five team-related soft skills categories, with 52 skills (in total, the students mentioned 147 soft skills); (b) course assignments and particularly team-based activities elicited student awareness of their individual soft skills, both as strengths and weaknesses; (c) students developed their reflection skills, particularly with respect to team-related soft skills; and (d) significant differences exist between the two groups of students in several categories. Recommendations for Practitioners It is important to provide undergraduate students with opportunities to integrate soft skills during their training. Establishing a meaningful learning process, such as project-based learning, enables students to apply and develop soft skills when accompanied by reflective thought processes. Recommendation for Researchers A similar course can be taught and be accompanied by similar analysis of students’ learning outcomes, to examine the influence of local culture on the characteristics of soft skills. Impact on Society Increased awareness of soft skills in scientists and engineers’ undergraduate education. University graduates who will strengthen their variety of soft skills in their academic training process and will be more meaningful employees in the workplace and in society. Future Research Our future research aims (a) to explore additional innovative ways to increase students’ learning processes, awareness and practices in relation to soft skills and (b) to research how students’ soft skills are developed during the entire undergraduate studies both on the individual level and the team level.

The Effect of the FIRST Robotics Program on Its Graduates

Shahaf Rocker Yoel, Daphna Shwartz Asher, Maayan Schohet, Yehudit Judy Dori

השפעת תוכנית הרובוטיקה FIRST על בוגריה

התוכנית For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) המיועדת לתלמידים בגילאים מגוונים, משלבת למידה מבוססת פרויקטים (PBL) ורובוטיקה. הנחיית התלמידים נעשית על-ידי מנטורים, רובם מהנדסים. מטרת מחקר זה היא לאפיין ולהעריך את השפעתה של תכנית FIRST על בוגריה בנוגע למסוגלות עצמית, כישורים רכים ובחירת קריירה במדע, טכנולוגיה, הנדסה ומתמטיקה (STEM). משתתפי המחקר כללו 297 בוגרי FIRST, שהגיבו לשאלונים וראיונות עם חמישה מהם. ניתוח הנתונים הראה כי תכנית FIRST שיפרה את כישוריהם הרכים של הבוגרים כמו ניהול זמן, כישורי עבודת צוות ומסוגלות עצמית, וכן השפיעה על בחירת קריירה בתחומי ה-STEM. הגורמים העיקריים המשפיעים על בחירת הקריירה של הבוגרים היו חשיפתם לרובוטיקה ולמומחים מהתעשייה. התרומה התיאורטית היא לתיאוריה הקוגניטיבית החברתית (SCT) בהקשר לתכנית FIRST. המחקר שלנו מסביר את בחירת הקריירה של התלמידים באמצעות מתאמים בין שאיפות התלמידים לבחירת קריירה, מסוגלות העצמית, כישוריהם הרכים והבחירה בפועל. התרומה המעשית טמונה בהבנה טובה יותר של תוכניות רובוטיקה והרחבת כוח העבודה בתחומי ה-STEM.

Abstract

The program For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) for young students incorporates project-based learning (PBL) with designing and building wireless-controlled robots. The students are guided by experts, mostly engineers. The FIRST organization determines the theme of the robot annual competition. The goal of this research is to characterize and evaluate the effect of the FIRST program on graduates’ self-efficacy, interpersonal skills, and career choices in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). The research participants included 297 FIRST graduates, mostly high schoolers, who responded to questionnaires, and five of them were interviewed. Analysis of the data showed that the FIRST program improved graduates’ interpersonal skills such as time management, teamwork skills, and self-efficacy, as well as had an impact on the graduates’ STEM career choices. The main factors impacting the graduates’ career choice was their exposure to robotics and to experts from the industry. The theoretical contribution is to the social cognitive theory (SCT) in the context of the FIRST program. Our study explains students’ career choice through correlations among students’ aspirations for choosing a career, their self-efficacy, their interpersonal skills, and their actual choice. The practical contribution lies in better understanding the robotic PBL program and expanding the STEM work force.

Children with dyslexia utilize both top-down and bottom-up networks equally in contextual and isolated word reading

Raya Meri, Rola Farah, Tzipi Horowitz-Kraus

Abstract

Introduction Executive functions (EF) include cognitive processes that support learning and reading. Children with dyslexia experience challenges with both reading and reading comprehension. The neurobiological support for EF deficits during reading comprehension, however, has yet to be defined. Here we aimed to identify the neural networks related to EF during a reading comprehension task focusing on top-down and bottom-up networks in children with dyslexia and typical readers (TR). Method Twenty children with dyslexia and 19 TR aged 8–12 were scanned during a sentence comprehension (SC) task that included isolated words and sentences that make sense, in addition to undergoing reading and EF behavioral assessment. Functional connectivity within and between four EF networks related to top-down and bottom-up processing were calculated. Results Children with dyslexia scored significantly lower in reading and EF testing in several subdomains compared to TR. Children with dyslexia displayed decreased accuracy in both task conditions compared to TR during the SC task. Neuroimaging data analysis revealed that TR had greater functional connectivity within and between top-down and bottom-up processes, in the sentence vs. isolated word condition, compared to children with dyslexia. Discussion TR demonstrate a reliance on top-down and bottom-up networks only during sentence comprehension. In children with dyslexia, however, this reliance was not found in either of the task conditions, suggesting that both conditions were equally challenging for them. These findings emphasize the involvement of EF networks in the reading comprehension process and highlight their impaired functionality among children with reading difficulties.

Exploring Affordances of Robot Manipulators in an Introductory Engineering Course

Igor M Verner, Dan Cuperman, Sergei Gamer, Alex Polishuk

Abstract: In this paper, we report on our experience to develop a way for exposing industrial engineering (IE) students, already in their first year of studies, to the challenges of industrial robot operation. We implemented a workshop in which students performed spatial manipulation tasks, using a conventional robot Scorbot-ER5 and a modern Baxter. The goal of our study was to examine how the students learn through exploration of robot affordances and how the learning impacts their appreciation of the role of robotics in IE, interest in industrial robotics, and spatial awareness. We conducted two case studies: in the first, students operated Scorbot-ER5 in virtual and physical modes, and in the second, students operated both Scorbot-ER5 and Baxter, in the virtual mode. The study focused on students’ performances, their difficulties, and responses about of the workshop contribution. Students’ success in learning robot affordances was indicated by the improvement in task performance. The spatial difficulties that students faced in exploring affordances of the robots, and the ways by which they coped with the difficulties were identified and categorized. Most of the students self-evaluated that the workshop highly contributed to their spatial awareness and interest in industrial robotics and exposed them to the role of robotics in industrial engineering. These evaluations were significantly higher in the second study, in which students also operated the modern robot Baxter.

Assessing Novelty and Systems Thinking in Conceptual Models of Technological Systems

Rea Lavi, Yehudit Judy Dori, Dov Dori

Abstract

Contribution: The authors present a methodology for assessing both novelty and systems thinking, as expressed in the same conceptual models constructed by graduate engineering students. Background: Companies worldwide seek employees with creativity and systems thinking, since solving design problems requires both skills. Novelty and usefulness are the most commonly accepted components of creativity, while systems thinking is the holistic understanding of systems. Research Question: How can novelty and systems thinking be assessed based on conceptual models (of technological systems) constructed by graduate engineering students? Methodology: Six student teams of two to four members each (N =21) constructed solution models based on Object-Process Methodology, a formal methodology and language for model-based systems engineering. The authors assessed these models for novelty and for systems thinking using two existing rubrics based on the construction of system aspects–function, structure, and behavior. Findings: The authors provide indications that both novelty and systems thinking can be assessed based on conceptual models of technological systems.

Guiding Physics Teachers by Following in Galileo’s Footsteps

Maayan Schvartzer, Michael Elazar, Shulamit Kapon

Abstract

Many physics learners take the specific mathematical representations they are using as part of their learning and doing physics for granted. The paper addresses this problem by highlighting two goals. The first is to show how a historical investigation from history of science can be transformed into a concrete lesson plan in physics, in a physics teacher education program. The second is to explore the role of mathematical representations in scientific inquiry and discuss the educational affordances of historical case studies in explicating this role in preservice and in-service physics teacher education. The historical artifact that formed the basis of the lesson is a page cataloged as “folio 116v” that contains Galileo’s authentic laboratory notes and calculations written at the time he made his revolutionary discoveries on freely falling objects and projectile motion. To understand and reproduce Galileo’s authentic notes, students must first become explicitly aware that the mathematical tools and representations available in his time were radically different from the tools and representations available to physics learners now. The activity thus sparked discussions and reflections on the meanings and implications of mathematical representations in learning and doing physics.

The validity and reliability of a tool for measuring educational innovative thinking competencies

Sigal Morad, Noa Ragonis, Miri Barak

Abstract

Abstract The study’s purpose was to develop a valid and reliable tool for measuring innovative thinking competencies with reference to education. The tool development was guided by the cognitive, experiential, and sociocultural theories. The validity and reliability of the tool were established using quantitative methods through three main stages: Content validity by inter-rater agreement; Construct validity by principle component analysis and confirmatory factor analysis; Concurrent validity by correlations between scales. The participants were ten educators and 743 preservice teachers from two higher education institutions. The findings produced a tool for measuring educational innovative thinking competencies in the context of teacher education.

Book review: John L Rudolph, How We Teach Science: What’s Changed, and Why It Matters

Ayelet Baram-Tsabari

Abstract

‘Public perceptions of the intricacies of scientific process are central to determining where the legitimate exercise of expert judgment leaves off and the rightful expression of public preferences regarding science research policy begins’ (p. 7–8), writes John Rudolph in this important work. He tackles why scientists are so invested in the school teaching of science processes – how scientists come to know, rather than what is known. The general public tends to have little exposure to how science works after leaving school. Such encounters may happen, however, when the authority or legitimate scope of science are perceived to conflict with other knowledge systems, norms, or claims.

Israel: Developed Science, developing Science Communication

Ayelet Baram-Tsabari, Daniela Orr, Avital Baer, Erez S Garty, Yaela Naomi Golumbic, Maya Halevy, Eitan Krein, Adi Levi, Noam Leviatan, Neta Lipman, Ronen Mir, Ettay Nevo

Abstract

Israel is a relatively young, small country, with highly developed innovative science and high-tech sectors (Getz, Buchnik and Zatcovetsky, 2020). The Israeli public takes great pride in Israeli science, technology and innovation and is convinced of their importance for national security, prosperity and quality of life (Yaar and Alkalai, 2010). In contrast to the public interest, trust and positive attitude towards science (Israeli Ministry of Science, 2018), the science communication landscape is far from ideal: the Israeli media are rather reserved towards science stories (Barel et al., 2015), infrastructure is slim and based on a few committed individuals, norms within academia do not necessarily support engagement with the public, a culture of public involvement in science-related policymaking is lacking, and government interest in science communication is faint at best. Indeed, a pan-European comparison classified Israel in 2012 as possessing a ‘fragile’ science communication culture, with weak infrastructure and a lack of science journalists (Mejlgaard et al., 2012).

Longer Screen Vs. Reading Time is Related to Greater Functional Connections Between the Salience Network and Executive Functions Regions in Children with Reading Difficulties Vs. Typical Readers

Tzipi Horowitz-Kraus, Mark DiFrancesco, Paige Greenwood, Elisha Scott, Jennifer Vannest, John J Hutton, Jon Dudley, Mekibib Altaye, Rola Farah

Abstract

An adverse relationship between screen exposure time and brain functional/structural connectivity was reported in typically developing children, specifically related to neurobiological correlates of reading ability. As children with reading difficulties (RD) suffer from impairments in reading and executive functions (EF), we sought to determine the association between the ratio of screen time duration to reading time duration and functional connectivity of EF networks to the entire brain in children with RD compared to typical readers (TRs) using resting state data. Screen/reading time ratio was related to reduced reading and EF abilities. A larger screen/reading time ratio was correlated with increased functional connectivity between the salience network and frontal-EF regions in children with RD compared to TRs. We suggest that whereas greater screen/reading time ratio is related to excessive stimulation of the visual processing system in TRs, it may be related to decreased efficiency of the cognitive control system in RDs.

Transition into Teaching: Second Career Teachers’ Professional Identity

Gabriella Shwartz, Yehudit Judy Dori

Abstract

Using the identity lens as a theoretical framework, we studied 42 novice second career chemistry teachers, who had previously worked as chemists and participated in an alternative certification program (ACP) at a science and engineering research university. Our goal was to understand the transition process of these teachers into the teaching profession as they shape their identity and navigate through the contexts of the preparation program and the school system. Results showed that the career changers attributed their identity development to a variety of program identity resources, which shape one’s identity: coursework, field experiences, and social contexts. We saw that the transition to the teaching profession was mainly due to their desire to contribute to society. Investigating three case studies, we learned that through the active participation, one’s vision of the particular kind of teacher one aspires to be has developed within the unique learning environment created in the program.

Physics in Chavruta – A Model for Supporting Early Career Teachers

Shulamit Kapon, Alina Colton

Abstract

We present a model of an induction program that supports early career physics teachers as well as experienced teachers who face new challenges in their teaching of physics. The model involves personal mentorship embedded in a teachers’ professional community of practice led by senior physics teachers and supported by a physics education research group. The program is entering its third year. We discuss the structure of the program and the function of its components and use excerpts from written reflections by community members (novice and senior physics teachers, mentors and mentees), artifacts that were generated by and shared in the community, agendas for the monthly community meetings, and ongoing working documents to illustrate our claims.

Green schools in Israel: Multiple rationales and multiple action plans

Tali Tal

Abstract

Green schools in Israel are recognized as such by the Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) according to a list of criteria related to the management of the school – e.g., reducing material consumption, recycling, energy efficiency, and to its environmental education (EE) curriculum. However, these requirements do not necessarily mean that a school will be viewed as a “Green School” by a random visitor. Some of the schools run an extensive school-based EE curriculum, and act accordingly. Others are satisfied with the Green Certificate, and since further or continuous evaluation is rare, those school continue to the “next agenda item” and the “Green” remains mainly on the surface. In this chapter, I will discuss this duality, the ways NGOs and the MEP contribute to both deep and shallow approaches, and I will present one case study of an exemplary green school.

Learning Aspects of Nature of Science Through Authentic Research Experiences

Elizabeth Edmondson, Stephen R Burgin, Dina Tsybulsky, Jennifer L Maeng

Abstract

Authentic opportunities have the potential to support development of learners’ understanding of how scientists do their work. This chapter examines authentic classroom investigations, the use of modified primary literature, visits to authentic research labs, and research apprenticeships as models for this development. Strategies to help teachers at all levels implement these models and solutions to mitigate potential challenges are addressed.

Jargon use in Public Understanding of Science papers over three decades

Ayelet Baram-Tsabari, Orli Wolfson, Roy Yosef, Noam Chapnik, Adi Brill, Elad Segev

שימוש בז’רגון בעיתון “Public Unserstanding of Science” על פני שלושה עשורים

“Public Unserstanding of Science” (בתרגום לעברית: “הבנת הציבור את המדע”) הוא עיתון מדעי בין-תחומי המשרת את קהילת תקשורת המדע – הן את החוקרים והן את העוסקים בתחום.
מאמר זה סוקר ניתוח של קריאות (readability) וז’רגון של מאמרים שפורסמו בעיתון זה, במשך שלושת עשורי קיומו. מטרתנו לבדוק מגמות ושינויים בנגישות המאמרים לקהלים מגוונים. בדקנו את הנגישות של מאמרים שפורסמו ב- “Public Unserstanding of Science” בשנים 1999/2000 (סה”כ 47 מאמרים), 2009 (49 מאמרים) ו-2019 (65 מאמרים). הנגישות נבדקה על ידי מדדי קריאות (readability) ושימוש בז’רגון. הקריאות ירדה והשימוש בז’רגון עלה בהשוואה בין השנים 1999/2000 ובין שני העשורים הבאים. תוצאות אלו נצפו במאמרים ניסויים כמו גם לא ניסויים, ובכל חלקי המאמר כולל התקצירים. ניתוח מילים נדירות הראה ממצא נוסף. רוב המילים הנדירות שהופיעו במאמרים אינן חלק ממאגר מילים אקדמי כללי, וגם לא מז’רגון אופייני לתחום. נמצא כי רוב המילים הנדירות, הופיעו במאמר אחד בלבד.
השפה של “Public Unserstanding of Science” הפכה להיות פחות יומיומית. הדבר לא אומר שהשפה אינה מובנת לקהילת החוקרים הקוראים אותו, אולם יתכן שההשלכות משמעותיות יותר עבור קהלים כגון מתקשרי מדע בתחילת דרכם.

Abstract

Public Understanding of Science is an interdisciplinary journal serving the scholarly community and practitioners. This article reports an analysis of the readability and jargon in articles published in Public Understanding of Science throughout its almost three decades of existence to examine trends in accessibility to diverse audiences. The accessibility of Public Understanding of Science articles published in 1999/2000 (47), 2009 (49) and 2019 (65) was assessed in terms of readability and use of jargon. Readability decreased and use of jargon increased between 1999 and 2000 and the two following decades for empirical and non-empirical papers, and all parts including the abstracts. An analysis of rare words shows that most are not part of the general academic vocabulary or disciplinary jargon, but rather words that appeared only in one article. Public Understanding of Science has moved away from everyday language. This does not mean it is incomprehensible to its scholarly readership, but may have consequences to other audiences such as practitioners.

Adapting a professional development program for cognitively demanding instruction across shifting contexts

Einat Heyd-Metzuyanim, Talli Nachlieli, Merav Weingarden, Rinat Baor

Abstract

This study explored what was entailed in implementing a professional development (PD) designed in the United States (US) to a different, Israeli, context. To achieve this goal, the first step was empirically examining the effectiveness of such a PD using quantitative methods. We then examined which adaptations were made in the imported PD and at what level. Our study is based on data obtained from the Israeli TEAMS (Teaching Exploratively for All Mathematics Students) PD, which “imported” a US-based program based on “The Five Practices for Orchestrating Productive Discussions” and “Accountable Talk.” We build on studies of cultural adaptations of interventions which provide a framework whereby adaptations to a model can be made along three levels: philosophical, propositional, and procedural. To assess the effectiveness of the PD, we analyzed 211 recorded lessons. Individual growth curve analysis indicated significant growth in five parameters: intellectual authority, classroom discourse, exposure of student thinking, task enactment, and consolidation. These findings show that the PD was effective in importing several core practices which were relatively well defined. We use these quantitative findings, coupled with additional data obtained from the planning and execution of the PD, as a case to study the process of adapting an educational intervention to a new context. This analysis shows that our adaptations were mostly done at the procedural level. However, the quantitative results point to the possible necessity of also changing the propositional model of what intervention can work in a new context.

Forms of participation in an engineering maker-based inquiry in physics

Shulamit Kapon, Maayan Schvartzer, Tal Peer

Abstract

This article discusses a case study of a pair of students mentored by a physics teacher as they engaged in a long‐term (15 months) engineering maker‐based inquiry (EMBI), a mandatory part of these students’ formal learning of physics at the advanced high school level. We conceptualize the students’ engagement as participating in a particular figured world, which is distinct from the figured world of authentic scientific inquiry. Using fine‐grained discourse analysis of mentor–mentee interactions in authentic working sessions, complemented by interviews and other ethnographic accounts, we: (a) characterize this figured world; (b) identify central legitimate forms of participation that were enacted by the students and influenced their learning; (c) articulate how these forms of participation were socially communicated, constructed, and enforced over time in the interaction between the two students and the educational staff; and (d) examine how these forms of participation facilitated (or impaired) the learning of content and practices of the related physics. Two legitimate forms of participation, which contributed extensively to the EMBI’s goal of creating a working artifact, are discussed in detail. The analysis articulates the social construction of these forms of participation and shows that (a) participating as an engineer facilitated many foundational aspects of learning of physics, (b) participating as a technician fostered a sense of agency and efficacy with regard to physics in a student who did not find ways to express himself in the regular physics classroom; however, it did not facilitate the learning of scientific content and practices. The implications for the instruction of physics in school, particularly given recent calls for integrated STEM education and Making in education, are discussed.

Artificial Intelligence for Video-based Learning at Scale

Kyoungwon Seo, Sidney Fels, Dongwook Yoon, Ido Roll, Samuel Dodson, Matthew Fong

Abstract

Video-based learning (VBL) is widespread; however, there are numerous challenges when teaching and learning with video. For instructors, creating effective instructional videos takes considerable time and effort. For students, watching videos can be a passive learning activity. Artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to improve the VBL experience for students and teachers. This half-day workshop will bring together multi-disciplinary researchers and practitioners to collaboratively envision the future of VBL enhanced by AI. This workshop will be comprised of a group discussion followed by a presentation session. The goal of the workshop is to facilitate the cross-pollination of design ideas and critical assessments of AI approaches to VBL.

A Holistic Approach to Incorporating Sustainability into Chemistry Education in Israel

Yael Shwartz, Emil Eidin, Debora Marchak, Miri Kesner, Neta Avraham Green, Eldad Marom, David Cahen, Avi Hofstein, Yehudit Judy Dori

Abstract

Incorporating sustainability into chemistry education in Israel has been an ongoing endeavor for the last 25 years. In this chapter we introduce development, implementation, and research of six different educational initiatives: (1) Incorporating Industrial Chemistry into the teaching and learning of high school chemistry curriculum; (2) National Projects competition: “We have Chemistry: Chemistry, Industry, and the Environment in the Eyes of the Individual and Society”; (3) Promoting higher-order thinking skills using context-based Green Chemistry; (4) Professional Development for teachers: Focusing on sustainability: Materials for Energy (5) Professional Development for teachers: Supporting teachers in teaching socio-scientific issues, and finally; (6) Sustainable Chemistry for tertiary education: Research-based design of an interdisciplinary environmental science course. These initiatives span all levels of chemistry education, and hold a mutual design model, which will be discussed hereby.

Guide to teaching computer science – An Activity-Based Approach

Orit Hazzan, Tami Lapidot, Noa Ragonis

Abstract

This concise yet thorough textbook presents an active-learning model for the teaching of computer science. Offering both a conceptual framework and detailed implementation guidelines, the work is designed to support a Methods of Teaching Computer Science (MTCS) course, but may be applied to the teaching of any area of computer science at any level, from elementary school to university. This text is not limited to any specific curriculum or programming language, but instead suggests various options for lesson and syllabus organization. Fully updated and revised, the third edition features more than 40 new activities, bringing the total to more than 150, together with new chapters on computational thinking, data science, and soft concepts and soft skills. This edition also introduces new conceptual frameworks for teaching such as the MERge model, and new formats for the professional development of computer science educators.

Computational Thinking

Orit Hazzan, Noa Ragonis, Tami Lapidot

Abstract

This chapter focuses on computational thinking, recognized as one of the central twenty-first century skills. Computer science teachers should be familiar with computational thinking to build their own conception of its essence and central ideas for two main reasons: First, computational thinking is connected to computerized processes (but not only); second, computer science teachers have a special role in the implementation of computational thinking in educational systems and in the promotion of its conceptualization. This chapter presents several common educational approaches to computational thinking, analysis of the relationships between computer science and computational thinking, recommended pedagogical principles for implementation in the MTCS course, and activities to be facilitated in the MTCS course and in computer science teachers’ professional development programs.

The SoTL Seed Program (2014-2020)

Adriana Briseño-Garzón, Trish Varao-Sousa, Bruce Moghtader, Paulina Semenec, Ido Roll

Abstract

The Institute for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (ISoTL) and the Centre for Teaching, Learning and Technology (CTLT) are home to the SoTL Seed program. In this report, we describe the program goals and strategies, provide an overview of its evolution since its inception in 2014, and offer an overview of its internal operations. In 2019, a formal program evaluation initiative was launched to assess the extent to which the intended program goals have been met after six years of operation. Data sources include time tracking files, formative feedback from project leads, project closure reports, interviews with project leads, focus groups with SoTL Specialists, and our own experiences managing the program. Evidence indicates that the main program goals are being achieved to varied degrees of success, while also highlights areas of future improvement and growth.

Self-Reported Reasons for Participating in Pro-environmental Citizen Science Activities: A Case Study of Butterfly Monitoring in Israel

Dina Tsybulsky

הסיבות להשתתפות בפעילות פרו-סביבתית בהקשר של מדע אזרחי: חקר מקרה של ניטור פרפרים בישראל

המחקר הנוכחי בוחן את המאפיינים של מתנדבים שמשתתפים במדע האזרחי ואת הסיבות המובילות אותם להשתתף בפעילויות הקשורות לשימור טבע, ובפרט בניטור פרפרים. המחקר נערך בגישה של חקר מקרה וכלל שיטות איכותניות וכמותיות לאיסוף וניתוח הנתונים. ממצאי המחקר מצביעים על מערכת מורכבת של הסיבות, לרוב פנימיות, המשקפות את רצונם של המשתתפים לתרום לחברה, להיפגש עם אנשים אחרים ולהגדיל את טווח הידע שלהם בנושא. יתרה מזאת, הממצאים מראים כי שישנם מאפיינים משותפים של מתנדבי במדעי אזרחי, שכללו התבגרות בסביבה כפרית ומפגש עם דמויות ו/או אירועים משמעותיים שהובילו לאהבתם לטבע, לתחושת המחויבות החזקה שלהם למען הטבע, ורצונם לנקוט בצעדים פעילים לשימורו. אחת ההשלכות המרכזיות של המחקר הזה הינו החשיבות של שילוב של פעילויות פרו-סביבתיות במערכת החינוך.

Abstract

The current study examines the common characteristics of citizen science volunteers and the reasons that lead them to participate in pro-environmental conservation-related activities, specifically in monitoring butterflies. The research was conducted as a case study and involved the use of qualitative and quantitative methods for gathering and analyzing the data. Findings indicate a complex system of self-reported reasons, mostly internal, reflecting participants’ desire to contribute to society, meet with other people, and increase their range of knowledge on the topic. Furthermore, findings indicated that there are shared characteristics among the profiles of citizen science volunteers, which included growing up in a rural setting and encountering significant figures and/or events that led to their love of nature, their strong and deep sense of commitment and concern for nature, and their desire to take active steps to preserve it.

Situated Escape Games: Facilitating Knowledge and Wwareness about Healthy Nutrition

Tal Yachin, Miri Barak

Abstract

Escape games are a new trend in game-based learning, which provides people with the opportunity to learn about science in an informal environment. Escape games are situated in settings that instigate interactions between the players and between them and the learning environment, and therefore correspond with the situated learning paradigm. As escape games are a relatively new trend, research on their design, implementation, and educational value is still in its initial stages. Hence, the current study aimed to develop a model for the design of educational escape games (EduEGs), and to examine its role in facilitating learning among the general populations.

Interdisciplinary Education – The Case of Biomedical Signal Processing

Koby Mike, Shira Nemirovsky-Rotman, Orit Hazzan

Abstract

Interdisciplinary perspective on real-life problems is an important skill for 21st century engineers and should be a part of their education. Project-based learning (PBL) is a well-known pedagogical tool for interdisciplinary education. In order to successfully accomplish interdisciplinary learning, students must have sufficient knowledge in each of the separate disciplines. Use of cross-disciplinary teams, for example, is one way to make sure a project team includes specialists in all required disciplines. This, however, is not always the case. In many cases, there are significant knowledge gaps within the project team in one or more of the project domains. Specifically, in our case, fourth-year electrical engineering students are working in pairs on biomedical signal processing projects, which are evidently interdisciplinary in nature. The teams, however, are homogeneous and the students lack the essential medical expertise required to achieve solutions applicable by physicians. Furthermore, students tend to acknowledge this gap only in the advanced phases of the project, and so critical phases, such as goal setting and planning, are performed without the required knowledge. In this article, we present (a) data that supports the existence of this knowledge gap and its effect on students; (b) an intervention program that exposes students to both the required domain knowledge and its importance to their work; and (c) initial data that supports the success of this intervention program in bridging these gaps.

Fostering students’ analytical thinking and applied mathematical skills through 3D design and printing

Laura Levin, Igor M Verner

Abstract

The new standards for school mathematics and science education refer to analytical thinking (AT) as the target skill necessary to logically and systematically solve complex problems by their decomposition. The standards also point to the applied mathematical skills (AMS) needed to understand ill-defined problems, collect and quantify relevant data, and construct and inquire mathematical models. This study explores the integration of learning activities in digital design and 3D printing as a strategy to foster analytical thinking and applied mathematical skills among middle school students and prospective teachers. The study involved 32 seventh grade students and five prospective teachers of technology. Both groups learned a 10-hour workshop, “Make a spinning-top.” The participants designed spinning-tops that can fit into a Kinder Surprise egg and analyzed their geometric and mechanical properties. We evaluated students’ worksheets, designed artifacts, and discussions. The results indicated that the assignment prompted the participants to apply AT and AMS. School students designed complex 3D models and analyzed their properties, using geometry concepts and theorems, and verified their designs through 3D printing. The worksheet was an effective tool to frame and guide the school students to think about specific problems in the design task and create and test mathematical models. For the prospective teachers, the workshop accompanied by lectures on the methodology of experiential learning was the way to acquire pedagogical content knowledge in the subject.

Digital curation for promoting personalized learning: A study of secondary-school science students’ learning experiences

Dina Tsybulsky

אוצרות דיגיטלית כמקדמת למידה מותאמת אישית

אוֹצְרוּת דיגיטלית היא תהליך יצירה, ניהול ושימוש של חומרים דיגיטליים. פריטי תוכן דיגיטליים בתחום מסויים נאספים לכדי אוסף דיגיטלי. האוצרות הדיגיטלית כפעולה לימודית מתייחסת ליצירת אוספים דיגיטליים שמשמשים לצרכי הוראה, למידה ופיתוח סביבות למידה. המאמר מציג מחקר שבדק את הדרכים בהם אוֹצְרוּת דיגיטלית כפעולה לימודית מקדמת את למידה מותאמת אישית, ואת חוויות הלמידה של התלמידים בתהליך זה. המחקר נערך במסגרת חינוך מדעי על-יסודי. התלמידים השתתפו במשך שלושה חודשים בפרויקט שכלל תהליך אוצרות של אוסף דיגיטלי אישי בנושא מדעי. איסוף וניתוח הנתונים נעשה באמצעות גישה איכותנית-פנומנולוגית. הממצאים הראו שתהליך האוצרות הדיגיטלית כפעולה לימודית תומכת בלמידה מותאמת אישית של לומדים: בחירת נושא האוסף על פי עניין אישי ו/או רלוונטיות, בחירת מקורות המידע וסוג הפריטים שיתווספו לאוסף על פי רמת הידע האישית, דרכי הלמידה וצרכיו של הלומד ועוד. בנוסף, נמצא כי אוצרות דיגיטלית מספקת חוויות למידה אישיות, רגשיות וקוגניטיביות, המאפשרות ללומד להבנות אונטולוגית תוכן אישית.

Abstract

The article presents a research study that examined the ways in which digital curation promotes personalized learning, as well as the students’ experiences of this learning process. The study was conducted in the context of K-12 education. Participants spent three months on a project that included curating a personalized digital collection. The study was conducted using a phenomenological qualitative approach for the collection and processing of data. Findings demonstrate that digital curation provides a productive learning activity that supports significant personalized, emotional, and cognitive learning experiences, enabling the curator to construct a personal subject ontology.

Parent-child joint reading is related to an increased fixation time on print during storytelling among preschool children

Michal Zivan, Tzipi Horowitz-Kraus

Abstract

Print exposure in early childhood is related to linguistic skills such as oral language, reading comprehension and spelling during school years. A common way of exposing preschool children to print is during joint storytelling. Research has shown that total fixation time on print during storytelling is between 2% and 6% of the total fixation time on the book and is a function of the child’s age. What has yet to be determined, however, are differences, if any, in child fixation time on print during parent vs. experimenter joint storytelling. Here, we examined the effect of parent vs. experimenter storytelling–reading on fixation time on print among 4–6-year-old preschoolers. Specifically, we used an eye-tracking device to compare the fixation time percentage on print while the parent vs. an experimenter were reading a story to the child. Preschoolers fixated more on print when their parent was reading a story to them vs. the experimenter. Positive correlations between fixation time on print and linguistic skills and processing speed were found. Results suggest that joint storytelling with a parent promotes print awareness, an important factor in developing literacy and reading skills, and thus further emphasizes the importance of parent–child joint storytelling.

Teacher’s withdrawal behavior: examining the impact of principals’ innovative behavior and climate of organizational learning

Rima’a Da’as, Abeer Watted, Miri Barak

Abstract

The study aims to test an innovative model that explores the direct and indirect relationships between principals’ innovative behavior, climate of organizational learning and a teacher’s intent to leave his or her school and take a voluntary absence.,Data were collected from a survey of 1,529 teachers from 107 Arab elementary schools randomly selected from the database of the Israeli educational system. To test the proposed multilevel model, we conducted multilevel structural equation modeling (ML-SEM).,The analysis confirmed that organizational learning climate is a prominent mediator between principals’ innovative behavior and a teacher’s intent to leave and his/her voluntary absence.,This research advances our understanding of leaders’ innovative construct in an educational context and adds to the body of research directed at identifying administrative support and work-related factors that may negatively relate to a teacher’s absenteeism or intent to leave and are amenable to leadership intervention.

Teaching CS undergrads online to work with others effectively

Orit Hazzan

Abstract

The Spring semester of 2020 will be re membered as the Corona semester. After a decade of teaching a classroom course on soft skills at the Technion(described in Hazzan and Har-Shai 1,2), I faced the challenge of teaching it online during the Corona semester (while on sabbatical at the Hebrew University ofJerusalem). At first, I wondered whether teaching soft skills online is even possible since, unlike theoretical courses, I assumed that close face-to face (F2F) interaction is required in order to practice such skills. Eventually, I realized that teaching this course online has, in fact, some advantages, that this teaching format opens up new opportunities, and that this medium can even foster several soft skills I had not previously considered teaching in the F2F format. This blog demonstrates these advantages by focusing on the use of the breakout rooms option available in Zoom, which I used extensively in the course.

Novice Researchers’ Views About Online Ethics Education and the Instructional Design Components that May Foster Ethical Practice

Miri Barak, Gizell Green

Abstract

The goal of the current study was to examine novice researchers’ views about online ethics education and to identify the instructional design components that may foster ethical practice. Applying the mixed methods approach, data were collected via a survey and semi-structured interviews among M.Sc. and Ph.D. students in science and engineering. The findings point to the need for rethinking the way conventional online ethics courses are developed and delivered; encouraging students to build confidence in learning from distance, engaging them in online active and interactive experiences, and providing them with personalized support and adaptive guidance. The novice researchers identified the synergistic integration of collaborative, case-based, and contextual learning, as the instructional design components that may foster not only ethical knowledge but also ethical practice in a fully online course.

Teaching Online Teaching: Using the Task-Centered Instructional Design Strategy for Online Computer Science Teachers’ Preparation

Rinat B Rosenberg-Kima, Koby Mike

Abstract: Due to its rapid changing nature, the field of Computer Science requires learners to develop self-directed online learning skills, and teachers to develop online teaching skills. In this paper, we describe the instructional approach we used in the Methods of Teaching Computer Science (MTCS) course, in which we utilized t he task-centered instructional strategy within a blended learning course format for preparing preservice computer science teachers for online teaching. As COVID-19 forced all teachers in the world to go online, we believe that our method can be used for teaching online teaching in wider preservice teachers’ programs and in-service professional development.

Science literacy in action: understanding scientific data presented in a citizen science platform by non-expert adults

Yaela Naomi Golumbic, Barak Fishbain, Ayelet Baram-Tsabari

Abstract

Citizen science is transforming the ways scientific knowledge is created, in that citizens participate in active scientific research, and large scientific databases can be accessed online. However, data availability does not guarantee public use or the relevance of these resources. This paper addresses the ways in which non-expert adults involved in a citizen science initiative, perceive, understand and use its scientific information. Participants responded to an online questionnaire presenting air quality data from ‘Sensing the Air’ citizen science platform, followed by interpretation questions (n = 123). The results showed that 70% of participants were able to interpret the data presented in various visual representations. No differences were found between gender, age or education level. However, respondents with tertiary scientific education obtained higher average scores. Among users who had previous experience with the project, overall scores were higher, and differences based on respondents scientific education were fewer. This may suggest that while scientific education is important in providing skills for data interpretation, it is not the only way to acquire these skills. This study highlights the ability of non-experts to understand and apply scientific data in daily situations and the potential of citizen science to develop scientific skills, competencies and public understanding of science.

Integration of Arab Female Students at a Technological University-Narratives of Identity in Figured Worlds

Soryna Sabbah, Einat Heyd-Metzuyanim

Abstract

This study deals with the academic identities of 13 female Arab students upon their entrance to STEM studies in a university in Israel. Female Arab students in a predominantly Jewish Israeli engineering institution face conflicting narratives regarding their ethnicity, gender, and its relation to possible success in university-level studies in general and mathematical studies in particular. To exemplify this, we focus on two students, Lena and Mira, who both encountered difficulties upon entering the institute, yet of different kinds. While Mira was mostly preoccupied with ethnic and religious conflictual narratives, Lena was occupied with gender-inferiority narratives. We use the concepts of current and designated identities and space of authorship within figured worlds to explain how different conflictual narratives permeated the identities of the two students. At the same time, we relate the findings from the two case studies to the more general findings from the 13 participants of the study.

Can Science Literacy Help Individuals Identify Misinformation in Everyday Life

Aviv J Sharon, Ayelet Baram-Tsabari

Abstract

childhood vaccinations and anthropogenic climate change. Many people are misinformed about the scientific facts underlying these issues. In response, science educators have called for improvements in the public’s science literacy, but it is not clear which components of science literacy would help individuals identify misinformation. In this position paper, we examine this issue and make two arguments. First, we unpack the construct of science literacy to the seven components identified by the National Academies, and argue that four of these components are most likely to help individuals identify misinformation in everyday life: (a) Understanding of scientific practices; (b) Identifying and judging appropriate scientific expertise, (c) Epistemic knowledge, and (d) Dispositions and habits of mind, for example, inquisitiveness and open‐mindedness. We also show that three of these four components are not commonly used in definitions of science literacy. Second, we posit that two opposite reasons explain why misinformation is so intractable: on the one hand, that individuals uncritically accept most information, even if it is false, and on the other hand, that they reject information that contradicts their worldview, even if it is true. Consequently, we argue that inculcating intellectual virtues, such as open‐mindedness, should be central to imparting science literacy and propose some implications for educational practice. Lastly, we point out some limitations of our arguments and offer recommendations for further research.

Relationship Between Eye-Movement Patterns, Cognitive Load, and Reading Ability in Children with Reading Difficulties

Aya Ozeri-Rotstain, Ifaat Shachaf, Rola Farah, Tzipi Horowitz-Kraus

Abstract

Children with reading difficulties (RD) share challenges in executive functions (EF). Neurobiological correlates provide evidence for EF challenges during reading among these readers, but an online cognitive load detection mechanism has yet to be developed. Nevertheless, eye-movement tracking can provide online data of reading patterns (pupil dilation, fixations) and, indeed, atypical eye-movement patterns of children with RD during reading have been documented. To identify eye-movement patterns related to increased cognitive load during reading in children with RD compared to typical readers, eye movements of 8-12-year-old English-speaking children were recorded during their reading of sentences with increasing difficulty (sentences that make sense, then sentences that do not make sense) and comparing incorrect and correct responses. Children with RD demonstrated greater pupil dilation when reading sentences that make sense than when reading sentences that do not make sense and also when reading incorrectly, compared to typical readers. Increased pupil dilation in children with RD when reading sentences correctly was positively correlated with phonological awareness capabilities. Higher phonological awareness and reading abilities were related to increased pupil dilation only in children with RD during correct reading, which is related to a heavier cognitive load. Results suggest that in addition to traditional findings of altered fixation patterns in children with RD, increased pupil dilation during reading may reflect EF challenges among this population. These findings can potentially be used to adapt online written materials for children with RD based on their fixation and pupil dilation patterns.

Science Has Not Proven That Screen Use Impacts Children’s Brain Development – Reply

John S Hutton, Jonathan A Dudley, Tzipi Horowitz-Kraus

Abstract

In a response to our article, “Associations Between Screen-Based Media Use and Brain White Matter Integrity in Preschool-Aged Children,” Pall claims that findings of lower microstructural integrity and language and literacy skills correlated with higher screen use may be attributable to electromagnetic field (EMF) exposures. As mobile digital devices linked via wireless connectivity are increasingly used by ever younger children, this is an important public health issue. The American Academy of Pediatrics issued a statement in 2016 based on research findings in rats, encouraging caution with mobile devices and that more research is needed.

The identity work of environmental education teachers in Israel

Noam Zaradez, Rakefet Sela-Sheffy, Tali Tal

Abstract

Despite growing interest in promoting environmental education (EE), as in other countries, its status within the formal education system in Israel is still ambiguous and its effectiveness questionable. Proceeding from the view of structure-agent interdependency, the present study focuses on teachers’ identity as key to understanding the situation in their professional field. Analysis is based on in-depth interviews with ten EE teachers in ten public elementary-schools in Israel, to investigate their occupational self-perception as part of the system in which they operate. Findings reveal an ambivalent professional identity and a weak sense of agency as EE teachers. Teachers’ impaired occupational self-image have implications for their potential role in advancing EE in particular and for the educational field in Israel in general.

Decreased Functional Connectivity Between the Left Amygdala and Frontal Regions Interferes With Reading, Emotional, and Executive Functions in Children With Reading Difficulties

Ohad Nachshon, Rola Farah, Tzipi Horowitz-Kraus

Abstract

Introduction: Dyslexia is a reading disorder characterized by significant difficulty in reading, as well as reports of altered executive functions (EF). Children with reading difficulties (RD) experience a broad range of social and emotional problems. Recently it was suggested that children with RD have altered functional connections within the amygdala, which is related to emotional processing. Altered brain laterality related to reading was previously reported in children with RD. Hence, we sought to determine the differences in functional connectivity between the right and left emotional network as related to emotional challenges and the other reported difficulties in reading and EF in children with RD compared to typical readers. Methods: Sixty-four 8 to 12 year old children, 27 children with RD and 37 age-matched typical readers, participated in the study. Reading, emotional, and EF abilities were assessed. Global efficiency of the emotional network was calculated and compared between the groups, and left vs. right functional connectivity of the amygdala was tested using the CONN toolbox. Functional connectivity measures were then associated with measures of reading, emotional, and EF abilities. Results: Children with RD showed significantly decreased emotional and EF abilities compared to typical readers. A negative correlation between reading, emotional, and EF abilities was determined in both groups. Neuroimaging results showed decreased global efficiency measures within the emotional network in children with RD, who also showed lower functional connectivity between the amygdala and the left and right frontal pole regions. Results also indicated increased functional connectivity of the right vs. left amygdala with left and right pre-central and post-central gyri regions, which were related to decreased reading, emotional, and EF abilities in both typical readers and children with RD. Conclusion: The positive relationship between EF and emotional abilities in children with RD strengthens the relationship between EF difficulties and emotional stress, which in turn may lower EF abilities (monitoring, inhibition, and attention) as well as decreased reading abilities. The emotional challenges in children with RD were associated with decreased functional connectivity of the left amygdala with pre/post central gyrus and cognitive-control regions. These findings suggest that although the right hemisphere is thought to be related to emotional stress, it was the decreased control of the left hemisphere that was related to emotional disturbance in children with RD.

Maternal depression is associated with altered functional connectivity between neural circuits related to visual, auditory, and cognitive processing during stories listening in preschoolers

Rola Farah, Paige Greenwood, Johnathan Dudley, John J Hutton, Robert T Ammerman, Kieran J Phelan, Scott K Holland, Tzipi Horowitz-Kraus

Abstract

Background Maternal depression can influence the early activity of a mother reading stories to a young child, as depressed mothers are less likely to read to their children. Here, maternal depression association to neurobiological circuitry of narrative comprehension, visualization, and executive functions during stories listening was examined in 21 4-year-old girls and their mothers. Maternal depression scores were collected from the mothers, and functional MRI during stories listening was collected from the children. Results Increased maternal depression was related to decreased functional connectivity between visualization and auditory regions and increased connectivity between the right visual cortex and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in the children. Conclusions This study highlights the need to monitor maternal depression and provide interventions to ensure positive linguistic outcomes in children.

Discovering an organisational paradox: the reduction-expansion perceptions in a police training organisation

Sigalit Shahar, Orit Hazzan

Abstract

In a dynamic and competitive environment, how do complex organisations maintain continuity and function without falling apart? This question will be examined in the context of the Israeli Police training organisation, which consists of several sub-organisations. Although they share similar goals, each has different objectives, trains police of different duties, and operates in a different geographical location. The common organisational characteristics promote shared perception and behaviour patterns for employees, which in turn, stabilise the organisation facing a complex environment. To reveal common perceptions of the training personnel, the research methodology chosen was qualitative, specifically, grounded theory methodology. The shared pattern reflects a paradoxical perception which simultaneously incorporates two poles – reductive and expansive – in each of four organisational core components diagnosed in the research: the training-organisation mission, training processes, organisational work-related processes, and the training personnel characteristics. The reduction-expansion paradox suggests an organisational perception pattern, embedded across the organisational core components, which offers a dynamic explanation for the continuity of the organisation in its complex environment.

Association between diffusivity measures and language and cognitive-control abilities from early toddler’s age to childhood

Rola Farah, Hagai Tzafrir, Tzipi Horowitz-Kraus

Abstract

Extensive improvements in executive functions and language abilities are accompanied by changes in functional connections within the brain and in gray and white matter during the first few years of life. Diffusion tensor imaging provides a unique look into pediatric brain anatomy and critical information regarding white-matter development. The aims of the current study were to investigate the variability in diffusion indices in language and cognitive white-matter tracts, hemispheric lateralization, and how diffusion measures are related to age, language and cognitive abilities from early toddler age to early childhood. Diffusion tensor imaging data were acquired from seventy-four 17-107 month-old typically developing children (mean = 69 months; females = 39). Effects of hemisphere and age on diffusion properties (mean diffusivity, radial diffusivity, axial diffusivity and fractional anisotropy) were measured at 100 points along the length of white-matter tracts related to expressive language and cognitive abilities, including the cingulum bundle, superior longitudinal fasciculus, inferior longitudinal fasciculus, inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus, arcuate fasciculus and corpus callosum (forceps major and forceps minor). Diffusion properties exhibited variability along the length of the tracts, with hemispheric effect and age differences in specific segments of the tracts. Significant positive correlation was found between fractional anisotropy and expressive language and cognitive abilities. Our results provide a detailed examination of the effect of age and hemisphere on diffusion properties. Furthermore, the results delineate the neural correlates of white-matter microstructure to behavioral language and cognitive performance in white-matter tracts related to language and cognitive abilities at the tract level along with development.

Text-to-Speech Technology: Enhancing Reading Comprehension for Students with Reading Difficulty

Jennifer Keelor, Nancy A Creaghead, Noah H Silbert, Tzipi Horowitz-Kraus

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of text-to-speech (TTS) without highlighting, with highlighting, and with increased highlighting rate, on the reading comprehension of children with reading difficulties. Participants read six expository passages under the following conditions:(a) Silent Reading,(b) Reading Aloud,(c) Listening Only,(d) reading with the use of TTS with No Highlighting,(e) reading with the use of TTS with Highlighting and (f) reading with the use of TTS at a Rapid Rate with Highlighting. They answered comprehension questions following each condition. Data were analyzed using a twotailed paired t-test and a one-way ANOVA. Reading comprehension was significantly higher for the TTS versus No TTS condition. There was no difference in the presentational features. Comprehension scores for TTS with No Highlighting positively correlated with processing speed; Listen Only negatively correlated with read aloud speed. TTS is a useful compensatory reading aid for improving comprehension.

Trends and Perceptions of Choosing Chemistry as a Major and a Career

Shirly Avargil, Zehavit Kohen, Yehudit Judy Dori

Abstract

In many countries, the choice of a STEM career, especially in chemistry, is decreasing. A shortage of appropriately skilled workers can become a threat to any country’s future achievements. Our research strives to understand behavioral trends and career choice factors related to personal and environmental themes. Building on the foundations of the Social Cognitive Career Theory, the research sheds light on prospective trends and retrospective perceptions of chemistry-related professionals in choosing chemistry in high school, as a career, and as a STEM occupation. To analyze the prospective trends in choosing chemistry, we used data curated by the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics on 545 778 high school graduates. For the retrospective perceptions of choosing a chemistry career, we investigated three research groups (N = 190): chemists and chemical engineers, chemistry teachers, and third year undergraduate chemistry students. We found that choosing chemistry as a major and profession decreases from high school to higher education. Women tend to choose chemistry more than men at high school and university levels, and minorities tend to choose it more in high school but less in higher education compared to non-minorities. Task-oriented self-efficacy was the factor which contributed the most to chemistry career choice in all three research groups. The theoretical contribution is the unique SCCT application through the integration of both the prospective views on the behavioral theme and the retrospective views on the personal and environmental themes. Furthermore, we present new chemistry-related factors within the personal theme of this theoretical framework that can extend the SCCT framework.

Conceptual Trends and Issues in Biology Didactics

Dina Tsybulsky

Abstract

We live in an era when the world is changing rapidly. However, recent changes are usually associated in people’s minds with unprecedented advances in digital technologies. In the face of these truly remarkable successes, which are widely advertised by the mass media, the scientific advances seem to be relatively minor. But this impression is inaccurate. The success of the natural sciences in recent decades is no less impressive than that of technology. Successes of biology are an excellent example of the achievements of the natural sciences. It would not be an exaggeration to say that over the past 50 years, biology has developed much faster than any other science. Developments in neurobiology, epigenetics, developmental biology, and other fields have significantly changed the body of biological knowledge. There is so much new knowledge that nowadays, well-ingrained theoretical constructions—theories, laws and models, which have studied at the school level, have to be re-examined. Under these new conditions, the highest priority should be to improve the didactics of biology, so that students can gain biological proficiency. The issue of how to best pursue this goal in the classroom is a challenging and multifaceted question.

Involving schoolchildren in radon surveys by means of the “Radon Test” online system

Andrei Tsapalov, Konstantin Kovler, Maxim Shpak, Yevhenii Shafir, Yaela Naomi Golumbic, Aline Peri, Dani Ben-Zvi, Ayelet Baram-Tsabari, T Maslov, Odelia Schrire

Abstract

A ‘citizen science’ approach was evaluated as an approach to organize an extensive radon survey to be representative of the population of either single regions or a whole country. The “RadonTest” online system allowed schoolchildren to undertake and record short-term radon tests in their homes. Measurements were carried out in Israel using charcoal in miniature flacons and simple detectors with high sensitivity. Among other things, the “RadonTest” online system implements an alternative principle of building a radon map, allowing the display of radon tests more clearly than the traditional approach, while ensuring the confidentiality of test participants. Examples of public radon maps are presented, and the first test results are discussed. A scientifically based approach for the effective identification of buildings with a high radon concentration, based on the principle of radon regulation, is proposed.

Innovation in a MOOC: Project-Based Learning in the International Context

Miri Barak, Maya Usher

Abstract

A current trend in STEM education is to harness the power and reach of massive open online courses (MOOCs) to impart to students the skill of innovation. Innovation is a major driver of economic growth and development and a required skill for engineering students. The literature advocates the use of project-based learning (PBL) for promoting innovation; yet, we lack the understanding of how innovation takes shape and how to evaluate it. The current study addresses this gap by analyzing engineering students’ team projects and characterizing their quality and level of innovation. The study was conducted in the context of a PBL course in nanotechnology, while comparing three research groups: face-to-face (F2F) university students, online university students, and online world learners. Applying a mixed methods approach, the study included interviews with six experts in nanotechnology and the analysis of team …

Engineering Teachers’ Assessment Knowledge in Active and Project-Based Learning

Daphna Shwartz Asher, Shari R Reiss, Amona Abu-Younis Ali, Yehudit Judy Dori

Abstract

An instructional framework that can help students succeed in the current labor force is project-based learning (PBL), which entails students researching and creating projects that reflect their knowledge. PBL implementation has been recently mandated in the Israeli high school science and engineering curriculum, but its effective implementation is impeded by challenges that include the lack of professional guidelines for teachers on creating and assessing student projects. Responding to the need to train engineering teachers in PBL, this chapter describes a recent training initiative for a cohort of engineering teachers from a diverse population, including Arabs and Jews, with varying levels and subject areas of expertise. Rather than simply lecturing these teachers about PBL, the program required teachers to devise assessment criteria that they felt were relevant to their own teaching, to implement PBL and these …

Emergent STEM Teaching Possibilities in an Era of Educational Technologies

Shulamit Kapon

Abstract

This essay discusses three chapters in this volume: Milner-Bolotin, Deliberate pedagogical thinking with technology in STEM teacher education; Tabach & Trgalová, Teaching mathematics in the digital era: Standards and beyond; Zazkis, Technology in mathematics teacher education: On trust and pitfalls. Informed by theoretical constructs and frameworks such as of distributed cognition, affordance, appropriation, and knowledge in pieces, this chapter highlights and elaborates on the following crosscutting themes: technology provides different forms of doing, the intrinsic and instructional affordances of technology, appropriating ICT for instruction, teachers’ professional knowledge, and implications for teacher education.

Establishing the validity and reliability of a modified tool for assessing innovative thinking of engineering students

Miri Barak, Abeer Watted, Hossam Haick

Abstract

The goal of this study was to establish the validity and reliability of a self-report tool for assessing individual differences in innovative thinking, based on a modification of the ‘innovative behavior scale’. A five-stage study was conducted among engineering students worldwide, who enrolled in a massive open online course in Nanotechnology and Nanosensors. Content validity was established by a panel of experts in engineering education. Construct validity was established through exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, indicating a four-factor solution with 13 items loaded above critical level. Known-groups validity revealed differences among learners with distinct expertise. The scale’s stability across populations and over time was confirmed, providing there has been no intentional intervention. Finally, the scale’s concurrent validity was reinforced through data triangulation with actual practice – the fabrication of innovative nanosensors.

Vaccine information seeking on social Q&A services

Aviv J Sharon, Elad Yom-Tov, Ayelet Baram-Tsabari

Abstract

Experts are concerned about the spread and recalcitrance of vaccine misinformation and its contribution to vaccine hesitancy. Despite this risk, little research attention has been paid to understanding how individuals seek vaccine information online and evaluate its trustworthiness. Here, we hypothesized that when vaccine-hesitant parents seek information about vaccines, they prefer trustworthy sources based on their competence, integrity and benevolence. We explored this issue using 4910 questions and 2583 answers retrieved from two social question-and-answer (QA namely, questions on one platform focused on the risks and benefits of vaccination, whereas they dealt with vaccine schedules on the other. On both platforms, most questions did not specify that an answer should be based on professional expertise or parents’ experience. Both pro-vaccine and anti-vaccine answers were proportionately represented among the “best answers”. However, if an answer was written by a health professional, the askers and the community on “Yahoo! Answers” were twice as likely to choose it as the “best answer” to a vaccine-related question, irrespective of whether it encouraged or discouraged vaccination. By contrast, an online experiment revealed that both the identity of the respondent and the stance towards vaccination affected the perceived trustworthiness of the answers. These findings indicate that despite the proliferation of anti-vaccine messages, epistemic trust in mainstream science and medicine is robust. User responses to expert answers suggest that expert outreach in online environments may be an effective intervention to address vaccine hesitancy.

The neural basis of executive functioning deficits in adolescents with epilepsy: a resting-state fMRI connectivity study of working memory

Ana M Gutierrez-Colina, Jennifer Vannest, Thomas Maloney, Shari L Wade, Angela Combs, Tzipi Horowitz-Kraus, Avani C Modi

Abstract

Working memory deficits are common in youth with epilepsy and consistently associated with long-term negative outcomes. Existing research on the neural basis of working memory disruptions in pediatric epilepsy is limited. The question of whether differences in the functional connectivity of neural networks underlie working memory disruptions in pediatric patients with epilepsy remains unanswered. A total of 49 adolescents between the ages of 13-17 years participated in this study. Twenty-nine adolescents had confirmed epilepsy (n = 17 generalized epilepsy, n = 6 localization-related, n = 6 unclassified). The control group included 20 healthy adolescents. A total of 10-min resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging was obtained for all participants. NeuroSynth-derived regions of interest were used as nodes that comprise working memory neural networks. Group differences in resting state functional connectivity were examined between adolescents with epilepsy and controls. Functional connectivity was computed as the temporal correlation of functional magnetic resonance imaging signal fluctuations between any two regions of interest. Compared to controls, adolescents in the epilepsy group demonstrated both hypoconnectivity and hyperconnectivity in cortical areas that map onto fronto-parietal and cingulo-opercular networks, as well as cerebellar regions. Functional connectivity between pairs of regions of interest was also significantly associated with behavioral measures of working memory across epilepsy and control groups. This study demonstrates that the presence of abnormal patterns in resting state neural network connectivity may underlie the working memory disruptions that frequently characterize the neurocognitive profile of youth with epilepsy.

The Realization Tree Assessment (RTA) Tool as a Representation of Explorative Teaching

Merav Weingarden, Einat Heyd-Metzuyanim

Abstract

We offer a new representation of mathematics teaching–the Realization Tree Assessment (RTA) tool–and exemplify how it may be productive for teachers’ collaborative discussions on explorative teaching. The RTA assists in explicating the mathematical object that is at the core of a task together with its different realizations. It was originally used for assessment of lessons and opportunities for explorative participation, where it enabled the examination of the extent in which different realizations of the mathematical object were exposed and who authored the narratives about the mathematical object (students or teacher). In this paper, we describe the affordances of this tool as a representation of teaching which affords access to the mathematical aspects of Explorative Pedagogical Discourse. We exemplify these affordances with a discussion of preservice teachers working in collaborative groups on RTA images.

Metacognitive Processes in Online Collaborative Problem Solving Forums: Mathematics Teachers’ Dual Roles

Zehavit Kohen, Nelly Keller, Boris Koichu

Abstract

Collaborative mathematical problem solving, such as in Problem Solving Forums (PSF), was found to contribute to solvers’ ability to handle challemging mathematical problems. Due to the important role of metacognition in directing learning processes, the current study goal is to examine the metacognitive process among teachers who collaboratively solve challenging problems in PSF in the role of students, and subsequently the metacognitive process of teachers, while experiencing PSF in the mentor’s role. The paper focuses on a case study of one secondary school mathematics teacher, John, who was engaged in collaborative geometry problem solving in the context of a professional development program. In the program, John and his teaching fellows were exposed to a metacognitive support in and between the PSFs. In his experience as a student, John demonstrated a progress in metacognitive ability in the process of collaborative problem solving. As a mentor guiding his teaching fellows, John encouraged their collaborative learning by the use of metacognitve support. We present theoretical, methodological and practical contributions of the study.

Model-Based Systems Thinking: Assessing Engineering Student Teams

Rea Lavi, Yehudit Judy Dori, Niva Wengrowicz, Dov Dori

Abstract

Contribution: A rubric for assessing the systems thinking expressed in conceptual models of technological systems has been constructed and assessed using a formal methodology. The rubric, a synthesis of prior findings in science and engineering education, forms a framework for improving communication between science and engineering educators. Background: Systems thinking is an important skill in engineering, but to date no rubric for assessing this skill based on a formal methodology has been published with reliability and validity measures. Research Questions: (a) What attributes should a rubric for assessing the systems thinking of engineering students comprise? (b) To what extent can such a rubric serve in assessing the systems thinking level of engineering students, as expressed in their conceptual system models? Methodology: Based on a literature review of systems thinking assessment in science and engineering education, the authors classified the systems thinking attributes they had identified into system function, structure, and behavior. Scoring instructions were developed for conceptual system models based on Object-Process Methodology ISO 19450, a formal methodology and language for model-based systems engineering. A total of 142 undergraduate engineering students in 32 teams modeled Web-based systems using the methodology. Each team submitted two models of the same system, at the middle and end of semester. Models were scored using the rubric, and its reliability and validity were evaluated. Findings: Indications of interrater reliability, internal consistency, and construct validity were acceptable, excluding the system function aspect, implying the rubric may be used reliably for its intended purpose.

Maternal reading and fluency abilities are associated with diffusion properties of ventral and dorsal white matter tracts in their preschool-age children

Rola Farah, Jon Dudley, John J Hutton, Tzipi Horowitz-Kraus

Abstract

Early language exposure and shared parent–child reading, as assessed by maternal reading ability and fluency, affect the child’s future language and cognitive abilities. The aim of the current study was to explore the association between maternal reading ability and fluency and diffusion properties of language- and cognition-related white matter tracts in their pre-school age children using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). DTI data were acquired from fifteen girls (mean age: 3.83 ± 0.49 years). Reading ability and fluency were assessed in their mothers. Effects of hemisphere and node on diffusion properties were measured at 100 points along white matter tracts related to language and cognitive abilities. Significant positive correlations were found between maternal reading ability and fractional anisotropy in left and right dorsal and ventral language and executive functions-related tracts, while maternal reading fluency was associated with higher fractional anisotropy in ventral tracts, mainly in the left hemisphere. Fractional Anisotropy was significantly higher in the left compared to the right arcuate, cingulum cingulate, and inferior longitudinal fasciculus and higher in the right compared to the left superior longitudinal fasciculus. Our results signify the importance of maternal reading as a facilitator of the child’s future language and cognitive abilities.

Reading in children with drug-resistant epilepsy was related to functional connectivity in cognitive control regions

Dror Kraus, Jennifer Vannest, Ravindra Arya, John S Hutton, James L Leach, Francesco T Mangano, Jeffrey R Tenney, Anna W Byars, Thomas G DeWitt, Tzipi Horowitz-Kraus

Abstract

AIM This study aimed to define whether individuals with drug-resistant focal epilepsy also used regions related to cognitive control to facilitate reading. METHODS We focused on patients with drug-resistant focal epilepsy in 2011-2014, who were aged 8-20 years and were being treated at the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, USA. They performed a verb generation functional magnetic resonance imaging task known to involve language and cognitive control, as well as a formal reading assessment. The reading scores were correlated with functional connectivity of the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) using seed-to-voxel analysis. RESULTS There were 81 potential patients and 13 (seven females) met the inclusion criteria. Their age at seizure onset was 0-13 years, and they had a mean age of 12.66 ± 3.17 years at the time of the study. Individuals with epilepsy demonstrated average intelligence and word reading ability. Their reading scores were positively correlated with functional connectivity between the ACC and regions related to emotional processing (right amygdala), learning and language processing (left cerebellum) and visual processing. CONCLUSION Our results support the role that the ACC plays in proficient reading among children with drug-resistant epilepsy, even in those with epileptogenic foci in areas related to language.

The experts’ perspective of “ask-an-expert”: An interview-based study of online nutrition and vaccination outreach

Aviv J Sharon, Ayelet Baram-Tsabari

Abstract

Social media allow experts to form communities and engage in direct dialogue with publics, which can promote mutual understanding between sciences and publics. However, little is known about experts’ participation in online communities, or effective ways to prepare them for public engagement. Here, we explored these issues with experts who voluntarily engage with publics on social media, to understand their public engagement practices. Stimulated recall interviews were conducted with 20 experts who participate in question-and-answer Facebook groups dedicated to vaccines and nutrition. The findings suggest that experts employ diverse considerations in their outreach, partly to establish epistemic trustworthiness. These can be grouped into three goals and two constraints: countering misinformation, establishing benevolence, and establishing competence while maintaining integrity and clarity. Empathic failure and burnout both emerged as factors that impair establishing benevolence. We discuss implications for community-level science literacy and for preparing scientists for “bounded engagement with publics.”

How to promote chemical literacy? On-line question posing and communicating with scientists

Zehavit Kohen, Orit Herscovitz, Yehudit Judy Dori

Abstract

Facilitating students’ chemical literacy is a focal point of current science education. This study examines views of chemists and chemistry teachers on chemical literacy and, more broadly, on scientific literacy of four kinds of stakeholders: scientists, teachers, STEM students, and the educated public. We explored the views of 347 participants, representing the four stakeholder groups with diversified scientific literacy, and an Ask-a-Scientist public website as a communication channel for facilitating chemical literacy through posing questions. Research tools included interviews, open-ended questionnaires, and questions retrieved from the website. We found that the questions posed on the website expressed a range of levels of chemical literacy that the students had constructed. The stakeholder groups expressed diverse perspectives of their experiences using various types of communication channels, arguing for the need to encourage students to pose questions and receive scientists’ responses. Our study is placed in the larger context of scientific literacy and communication channels, as it takes the example of chemical literacy, with a focus on communications among scientists and chemistry teachers in the context of an Ask-a-Scientist website. It has established a link between responses of various stakeholders and the literature definitions regarding scientific literacy with focus on chemical literacy. From a practical viewpoint, the study presents a productive communication channel for posing questions in the context of chemistry and other sciences. Methodologically, this study includes the design of tools for analyzing both the views of different stakeholders and for evaluating the complexity level of chemistry questions, which might serve chemistry educators.

Supporting productive exploration in invention activities: are simulations too challenging?

Jonathan Massey-Allard, Ido Roll, Joss Ives

Abstract

Studies show that invention activities, where students invent a general rule from provided resources before receiving direct instruction on the target topic, are particularly beneficial for learning outcomes. For most common implementations of invention activities, students are provided with instructor-designed contrasting cases with which to invent their rule. Alternatively, students could use an interactive simulation where they then have the agency to explore and collect observations on their own. While this provides a promising opportunity for developing more robust inquiry skills, it also introduces substantial challenges for the students that, in addition to learning about the domain, need to learn about expert ways of doing science. In this work, we compare different support structures that seek to mitigate these issues. Specifically, we incorporate a collaborative support structure and further provide students with either a short list of general rules to disprove or a list of important features that students are prompted to incorporate in their rule. We show that these support structures are not sufficient to make the exploration of students in our simulation-based invention activities as productive as with using contrasting cases.

Robot-Supported Collaborative Learning (RSCL): Social Robots as Teaching Assistants for Higher Education Small Group Facilitation

Rinat B Rosenberg-Kima, Yaacov Koren, Goren Gordon

Abstract

Acknowledging the benefits of active learning and the importance of collaboration skills, the higher education system has started to transform towards utilization of group activities in the classrooms. In this study, a novel interaction has been introduced, wherein a robot facilitated a small collaborative group activity of students in higher education. Thirty-six students completed a three hours activity that covered the main content of a course in Human Computer Interaction. The students worked in groups of four on three activities, where each activity entailed a different condition: paper-based interaction (with the teacher as facilitator of several groups), tablets-only interaction, and tablets and robot interaction. The robot facilitated the latter interaction by introducing the different tasks, ensuring proper time management, and encouraging discussion among the students. This study examined the effects of facilitation type on attitudes towards the activity facilitation, the group activity, and the robot, using quantitative and qualitative measures. Overall students perceived the robot positively, as friendly and responsive, even though the robot did not directly respond to the students’ verbal communications. While most survey items did not convey significant differences between the robot, tablet or teacher, we found significant correlations between perceptions of the robot and attitudes towards the activity facilitation and the group activity. Qualitative data revealed the drawbacks and benefits of the robot, as well as its relative perceived advantages over a human facilitator, such as better time management, objectivity and efficiency. These results suggest that a Robot Supportive Collaborative Learning (RSCL) is a promising novel paradigm for higher education.

Can scientists fill the science journalism void? Online public engagement with science stories authored by scientists

Yael Barel-Ben David, Erez S Garty, Ayelet Baram-Tsabari

Abstract

In many countries the public’s main source of information about science and technology is the mass media. Unfortunately, in recent years traditional journalism has experienced a collapse, and science journalism has been a major casualty. One potential remedy is to encourage scientists to write for news media about science. On these general news platforms, scientists’ stories would have to compete for attention with other news stories on hard (e.g. politics) and entertaining (e.g. celebrity news) topics written by professional writers. Do they stand a chance? This study aimed to quantitatively characterize audience interactions as an indicator of interest in science news stories authored by early career scientists (henceforth ‘scientists’) trained to function as science reporters, as compared to news items written by reporters and published in the same news outlets. To measure users’ behavior, we collected data on the number of clicks, likes, comments and average time spent on page. The sample was composed of 150 science items written by 50 scientists trained to contribute popular science stories in the Davidson Institute of Science Education reporters’ program and published on two major Israeli news websites-Mako and Ynet between July 2015 to January 2018. Each science item was paired with another item written by the website’s organic reporter, and published on the same channel as the science story (e.g., tourism, health) and the same close time. Overall significant differences were not found in the public’s engagement with the different items. Although, on one website there was a significant difference on two out of four engagement types, the second website did not have any difference, e.g., people did not click, like or comment more on items written by organic reporters than on the stories written by scientists. This creates an optimistic starting point for filling the science news void by scientists as science reporters.

Experiences of Preservice Teachers Exposed to Project-Based Learning

Dina Tsybulsky, Michal Gatenio-Kalush, Musa Abu Ganem, Etty Grobgeld

Abstract

This is a qualitative study that examines Jewish and Bedouin preservice teachers’ (n = 76) meaningful experiences in a project-based learning framework, in which they participated as part of their pedagogical coursework. The main goal of the study is to gain insight into participants’ meaningful experiences, i.e. thoughts, feelings, and emotions related to the PBL process. The data collection method consisted of 38 in-depth interviews and 152 reflective reports. Data were analysed according to the qualitative method for content analysis. Study findings provided detailed descriptions of participants’ meaningful experiences in two domains: (A) The Quality of the Experience; (B) The Content of the Experience. The study contributes to the pool of knowledge about PBL, an approach that is being increasingly implemented in teacher-training frameworks.

Linguistic Analysis of Science Teachers’ Narratives Using AntConc Software

Yulia Muchnik-Rozanov, Dina Tsybulsky

Abstract

This chapter presents the linguistic analysis of science teachers’ narratives regarding their worldviews in the digital age and their views of technology. The analysis was performed using Laurence Anthony’s software AntConc, which is suitable for analyzing large data corpora. The language behavior of the following groups of teachers was analyzed by exploring three distinctive linguistic markers: personal pronouns to study participants’ foci of attention; emotion words, to measure the extent of their emotional immersion in the discourse; and semantic fields of specific word collocations. The results, based on the variations in the language behavior, indicated differences between the three groups of teachers’ worldviews. In addition, the examination of the degree of descriptive elaboration, expressed through the use of sense, motion, and exclusion words, revealed similar levels of truthfulness in all three groups. The linguistic analysis, enhanced by various computational linguistic technologies available through the AntConc software, made it possible to identify implicitly conveyed thoughts and feelings, thereby affording a better understanding of complex education-related processes and phenomena.

AugmentedWorld : A location-based question-generating platform as a means of promoting 21st-century skills

Shadi Asakle, Miri Barak

Abstract

This chapter introduces a new web-based platform named AugmentedWorld that was designed to allow science teachers and students to generate location-based multimedia-rich questions. A study among 98 pre-service science teachers indicated that deep learning of science concepts can be promoted by generating and solving interactive questions connected to a specific location and real-world applications. The use of AugmentedWorld may foster ICT literacy, critical thinking, contextualization, and creativity – four essential skills required for 21st-century education. Our study shows that the method is most effective when using a taxonomy for question generation.

Importance of technical and soft skills: electronics students’ and teachers’ perspectives

Aharon Gero, Shai Mano-israeli

Abstract

In light of the gap between the qualifications of engineering and technology programme graduates and those required in the industry, the importance assigned by students and teachers to the technical and soft skills required of two-year electronics programme graduates is examined. Forty-four electronics students and 13 electronics teachers from a two-year college in Israel took part in the study, in which quantitative and qualitative tools were utilised. It was found that both the students and their teachers assigned relatively high importance to technical and soft qualifications. However, the importance assigned by the students to these skills was significantly lower than that assigned by their teachers. It might be possible to explain the findings by the present curriculum not having sufficient emphasis on providing students with relevant technical and soft skills.

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