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Writing Confidence: Tutoring, Identity, and Race—A Mixed-Methods Approach
Get PDFThis mixed-methods study sought to better understand how confidence in writing and race interact as factors within writing centers. Students utilizing our writing center were asked to provide data about racial identity and writing confidence both when registering with the writing center and when completing postsession surveys. From this data, we interviewed a racially representative pool of respondents to better understand their definitions of confidence and the identity factors that have shaped their confidence in writing. Our survey data showed that students’ confidence increased significantly as a result of a writing center session, replicating previous writing center research. Furthermore, we found that improvements in confidence were consistent across racial identities, with students from different racial backgrounds reporting comparable gains. Our qualitative interview results revealed how students struggle with both identity-and non-identity- based factors that lower their confidence in academic writing. Results offer a more nuanced picture of how student identity impacts writing confidence both within and outside the writing center
Probing Surface Characteristics of Plant-based Protein Powders
Get PDFPlant-based protein powders are expected to take-on a larger role in human diet as concerns regarding animal-based protein production grow. Unfortunately, not much physical property information about these proteins is available. This study was an attempt by researchers to perform an initial investigation of five powders: Mung bean, peas, pumpkin seed, Fava bean, and Soybeans. Typical particle sizing was determined, along with the surface morphology. Shear testing on the bulk materials was performed to establish the powders’ potential flowability. Inverse gas chromatography provided surface energies of the five protein types, and an X-ray photoelectron spectrograph was used to determine the specific chemical composition of each particle. Further work refining these properties is expected, but this study has provided a baseline of material values for benchmarking new results
The N-Alternative Optional Choice Experiment
Get PDFWhen testing visual function in clinical settings, one encounters test-takers who have difficulty following a forced-choice instruction when stimulus intensity is low. “I didn’t see anything, why do I have to guess?” An optional-choice paradigm makes it easier for these test-takers to provide data. Here we describe a theory of signal detection for N-alternative optional-choice (N-AOC) psychophysical tasks. The theory generalizes two well-known paradigms into a single framework: the theory for yes-no tasks is a degenerate case in which N=1, and the theory for N-alternative forced choice tasks (N-AFC) is a degenerate case in which the decision criterion is liberal. A different generalization, that can be applied either to yes-no or to N-AFC (and that we were reminded of by Jeffrey Mulligan), is to collect the observer’s confidence judgment on each trial. Confidence judgments are easily incorporated into N-AOC as well
Attention Improves Classification Performance of Locations in Ventral and Dorsal Visual Pathways
Get PDFVisual processing is divided into a ventral and dorsal pathway, thought to be important for object recognition and spatial cognition, respectively. Yet both streams encode shape and spatial information, and both are modulated by attention and task demands. This study compared how attention influences fMRI bold responses in a ventral region (fusiform gyrus, FG) and dorsal region (superior parietal gyrus, SPG). Specifically, using multivariate pattern analysis within each region, we examined whether attention modulated spatial location classification performance. During fMRI scans, participants performed one of 3 possible tasks: a 1-back task under attend-to-shape (detect a shape repetition); a 1-back task under attend-to-location (detect a location repetition); and a passive task (detect a color change of the fixation point). Each task had identical stimulus presentations, in order to isolate attentional effects. Spatial location classification was performed using support vector machine (SVM) across the regions of interest, including FG in the ventral pathway and SPG in the dorsal pathway. FG and SPG each showed higher spatial classification accuracies in both the attend-to-shape and attend-to-location conditions compared to chance levels for SVM classification approach. In addition, FG and SPG each showed higher spatial classification accuracies in both attention conditions compared to the passive condition for SVM classification algorithm. These results suggest that attention, either to the shape or location of a stimulus, enhances spatial representations not only in the dorsal pathway but also in the ventral pathway, supporting the view that spatial representations are modulated by attention along both streams. The findings, including why attention to shape improves spatial classification, will be discussed
The Power of Our Words: Imperatives and Personal Pronouns in Written and Enacted Mathematics Curriculum
Get PDFAs teachers, our use of imperatives (e.g., find, explain) and personal pronouns (e.g., you, we, I) contribute to our students’ learning and the roles they take in class. Using an ethnographic case study design, I explored the language of the written and enacted curriculum in a fundamental algebra course. My analysis revealed the power of language in the relationship between the authors and readers and the teacher and students. Providing students with a share in authority can increase their engagement
STEM Education in Indiana: Analyzing the Availability of STEM-Certified Schools for Underrepresented Communities
Get PDFThis study examines the equity of access to STEM-certified schools in Indiana, focusing on differences in student demographics between STEM-certified and non-STEM-certified schools. The results show no statistically significant differences in the percentage of female, non-White, or lower socio-economic students between the two groups. However, significant differences were found in the percentages of Latiné/a/o/x, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, and Asian students, with these groups being underrepresented in STEM-certified schools compared to non-STEM-certified schools
Integrating Turtle Graphics and Engineering Design: Enhancing Problem-Solving and Critical Thinking through Digital and Physical Prototyping
Get PDFThis research brief is a review of literature on integrating Turtle Graphics and engineering design to enhance students\u27 problem-solving and critical thinking through prototyping. Integrating Turtle Graphics with digital and physical prototyping engages students in the engineering design process, helping them bridge abstract mathematical concepts with real-world applications. By combining programming and engineering design, Turtle Graphics supports complex tasks like visualization and design modeling, which improves students’ critical thinking, design thinking, and problem-solving skills. Through iterative testing and refinement, students gain practical insights into engineering concepts such as modeling and creating prototypes
The Problem of Reducing the Wave Resistance of Blunt Bodies at Supersonic and Hypersonic Velocities
Get PDFA new method for reducing the aerodynamic wave drag of blunt bodies in supersonic and hypersonic flows is considered. The method is based on the destruction of the detached head shock wave by placing a family of thin needle elements of a cone-shaped or cylindrical type on the blunt surface. This qualitatively changes the gas-dynamic flow pattern and leads to a new positive quantitative effect. The bow shock wave breaks up into a series of local interacting shock waves of lower intensity, which leads to a decrease in the wave drag of the streamlined body. Variants of hemispherical blunting of an axisymmetric body of revolution and a supersonic leading edge of the wing is considered. A comparative numerical simulation of a supersonic flow around an axisymmetric body of revolution with a hemispherical blunting of the head part is carried out. The calculated effect of reducing the total aerodynamic drag was obtained at a counterflow velocity M∞=3.0 and amounted to 3.7% compared to hemispherical smooth bluntness when needle elements cover 20% of the blunting area. A tendency for a decrease in the total drag with an increase in the Mach number of the counterflow compared to hemispherical smooth bluntness due to an increase in the proportion of wave resistance is noted
Observing Evidence of Fixation during K-12 Engineering Design Challenges using Variables Adapted from Post-Secondary Research
Get PDFDesign fixation is a phenomenon impacting students when they generate ideas for an engineering challenge and subsequently hesitate to consider alternative ideas throughout the design activity. Research into fixation with post-secondary students has shown that fixation can limit the quantity and the quality of design solutions. This research brief will describe how fixation has been measured at the post-secondary level and suggest the need for complementing quantitative with qualitative analyses
