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Efficacy of Online Laboratory Exercises in Achieving Undergraduate Learning Outcomes in Introductory Astronomy Classes
Get PDFFully online courses and degree programs are popular with students today. It is important that these courses provide the same rigor and value of a traditional learning experience in a face-to-face classroom in order to ensure mastery of concepts and learning objectives. Online classes typically have suffered due to a lack of hands-on experiences for the students. One remedy to this is to include simulated hands-on work in the course through online laboratory exercises. The belief is that these simulated labs allow students to actively engage in the learning process, thus providing a traditional learning component in the online classroom. This research investigates the effectiveness of online laboratory exercises in enhancing student understanding of core concepts taught in introductory astronomy courses. Identical classes, one with and one without an online laboratory component, were compared using pre- and post-quizzes to compare the percent gain in content mastery between the classes. A Likert-style end survey was used to quantify student perception of the laboratory component. This study showed that students in the classes with online laboratory exercises demonstrated significant gains in scores compared to those without the labs. Further, the study indicated that different styles of online labs vary significantly in effectiveness and that labs with a component of realism result in the highest gains in student learning. Finally, the survey results showed that students believed the labs helped them to learn the course material and that the labs were an effective “hands-on” experience in an online environment
Flipped Teaching Eased the Transition to Online Learning of College Students in STEM Courses During COVID-19
Get PDFFollowing COVID-19, teaching was abruptly shifted from a live to a virtual format, posing a challenge to both students and faculty. There is a need to employ alternatives, emphasizing targeting the factors that suit Generation Z students for effective learning while maintaining social distancing. Understanding students\u27 perceptions about the educational environment plays a vital role in planning and implementing teaching strategies for the future. Flipped teaching (FT) has been a successful instructional method because it embeds active learning strategies and some remote learning for which students are responsible. This study examined the perceptions of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) students (N = 265) while transitioning to online learning in classrooms implementing FT instruction for two cohorts: faculty expanding FT skills and novice FT faculty from a public university and a community college. Findings showed a significant difference between the two groups, with the transitions being more difficult in the courses taught by the novice versus the more experienced faculty (p \u3c 0.01). Qualitative data analysis indicated that the FT classrooms eased the transition to fully online learning. The major challenges students faced were the lack of interaction with faculty and peers and a sense of community. In conclusion, FT eased the transition of college students in STEM courses to remote learning during COVID-19
The Inner Form of Style: On Heinrich Wölfflin’s “Tactical” Formalism
Get PDFIn this article, I examine the enduring relevance of Heinrich Wölfflin’s approach to style, in light of the renewed interest in it among “postformalist” art historians. By delving into the theoretical foundations of the Principles of Art History, I explore Wölfflin’s Goethean interpretation of Kantian epistemology, revealing a conception of style characterized by its dynamic and symbolic “inner form” rather than mere static formalism. This analysis not only highlights affinities with Max Weber’s thought but also uncovers a previously overlooked connection to Wilhelm von Humboldt, offering valuable insights for current discussions on style.
Dans cet article, j’étudie la pertinence de l’approche de Heinrich Wölfflin en matière de style, au vu de l’intérêt qu’elle suscite chez les historiens de l’art « postformalistes ». Explorant les fondements théoriques des Principes fondamentaux de l’histoire de l’art, et notamment la lecture goethéenne que Wölfflin fait de l’épistémologie kantienne, je montre que sa conception du style se caractérise par le dynamisme et le symbolisme d’une « forme interne » plutôt que par un formalisme statique. Cette analyse met en évidence des affinités avec Max Weber, mais aussi un lien négligé avec Wilhelm von Humboldt, offrant ainsi un précieux éclairage pour les discussions actuelles sur le style
Evaluation of Five Jack-O-Lantern Pumpkin Cultivars in Southwest Michigan in 2024
Get PDFA jack-o-lantern pumpkin cultivar trial was planted at the Southwest Michigan Research and Extension Center (42.081985, -86.354087, Benton Harbor, Michigan). Rupp (RP) seed company donated pumpkin seeds. Overall trial conditions were excellent, and the crop was harvested early due to the environmental conditions compounded with black plastic mulch pushing the plants to produce and ripen fruit early
Overweight Divisible Loads: Permit Administration and Impact on Indiana’s Road Infrastructure and Safety
Get PDFIndiana’s House Enrolled Act (HEA) 1190-2021 was implemented in January 2022 to address concerns regarding the overweight (OW) loading behavior of the freight transportation industry and OW permitting. The Act required the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) to adopt emergency rules and a fee structure for the interim period. At the start of the interim period (which is still ongoing at the time of this writing), the permit fee was increased from 7 cents/Equivalent Single Axle Load (ESAL)-mile to 25 cents/ESAL-mile. INDOT commissioned the current study to provide specific information about the effects of the Act on OW permit and revenue trends, infrastructure, and safety. The study results suggest that the Act caused an increase in the number of permits issued and permit revenue; a decline in the average Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW) and ESALs; but no significant impact on pavement and bridge damage or safety at the permitted routes. The Act helped to close the gap between OW-induced infrastructure consumption and revenues from OW-induced fuel-tax revenue overall. It also closed the gap between OW-induced infrastructure consumption and permitting revenues for non-interstate OW operations. Feedback from freight transportation industry representatives indicated a strong propensity to help protect the infrastructure via axle addition, particularly with incentives. Overall, the Act’s evaluation indicated no significant adverse impact on permit volumes and revenues, and most importantly, on infrastructure and safety. As such, the study results suggest that there is no need for any further adjustments in the OW divisible load permitting fee structure. In addition, efforts to further encourage responsible loading behavior—such as fee discounts or credits to encourage ESAL addition and travel at specific road classes at certain times of the year—could be pursued
Wildlife Ambassadors
Get PDFStudents at Purdue University are largely unaware of conservation efforts and research being done by both their fellow students and local organizations. This is why under the guidance of our mentor and as a part of the HIFI Lab, our group, the Wildlife Ambassadors, has created a website meant to push ecological efforts at Purdue University. This is done through the use of animal ambassadors, including but not limited to a wolf at Wolf Park, a local organization with which this project has been conducted in correspondence. This website will integrate and display the work of over three dozen other Honors College students upon its completion while additionally containing its content. Education about our animal ambassadors and the subject of corridor ecology (the study of habitat connectivity) is in place alongside unique experiences and merchandise that will drive further engagement to us and our partners while promoting easy access to meaningful ecological knowledge and efforts here at Purdue. In this community partner snapshot, we aim to show the benefit that increased knowledge and participation can have in environmental preservation
Where to Build Food Banks: A Machine Learning Approach
Get PDFOver 44 million Americans currently suffer from food insecurity, of whom 13 million are children. Food insecurity has been shown to cause a wide range of both physical and developmental issues. Across the United States, thousands of food banks and pantries serve as vital sources of food and other forms of aid for food-insecure families. By optimizing food bank locations, food banks and their resources would become more accessible to families who desperately require it. The aim of this paper is to build a machine learning framework that is able to optimize food bank locations and to consider factors such as median income. We utilized the K-means clustering algorithm for this purpose due to its high processing speed and ability to factor in large amounts of data, as well as its unsupervised nature that doesn’t require training time or labeled training data. Our proposed method applies K-means over a range of houses sourced from California and Indiana U.S. Census and geospatial data, with a weighted K-means algorithm applied when income data is available. We generated food bank locations that aimed to prioritize lower income households and compared these locations against real food banks affiliated with Feeding America. Our results show that not only is K-means extremely fast, but our food bank locations were on average better than those of existing ones, saving distance between food banks and houses in both California and Indiana
