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Identifying the Optimal Pedagogy for Preparing Undergraduates for the MCAT Exam
Full text linkExcelling on the MCAT is an essential step for undergraduate students preparing for a future as a physician in the medical field. Previous research has made links to MCAT performance and success in the medical field, yet there is a lack of research on how to best prepare undergraduate students for this extensive exam. Various research has been done on assessing the most effective studying strategies for undergraduates on typical collegiate exams, which students often translate to their MCAT studying. To assess the effectiveness of these practiced pedagogies on the MCAT, a social science experiment using a pre- and post-test format based upon MCAT questions and test conditions was used to support or negate the ability of reading text, using memorization tasks, test-enhanced learning, and instructor-led courses to improve MCAT performance. Forty students were recruited from Olivet Nazarene University to participate in one of five experimental groups testing these researched methods. Using a t-test and Bonferroni correction to assess pre- and post-test average, the only strategy that made a statistically significant difference in pre- and post-test average was using an instructor-led course to enhance performance. The findings of this study could encourage students and universities to begin using instructor-led course material to improve MCAT performance for students aspiring to be physicians
Using Case Studies in the Classroom: Short version of a presentation made to the NSTA in Denver Mar 2024
Full text linkIn the Fall of 2023 students in EDUC 383 middle and Secondary Science Methods explored science instruction using case studies. With the upcoming NSTA national conference, the students wrote a proposal to present on teaching with case studies, using one case study in particular, “The Savegre: A Model for Sustainability”, authored by Emilie Janes, an Olivet alum and Dr. Aggie Veld, Professor at Olivet. “While searching for a destination for the best spring break ever, five students in an ecology class happen upon a story of sustainability that inspires them to visit a tropical resort devoted to ecotourism.” Therein lies the basis of the case study.
The students presented March 23, 2024. In the presentation, they presented research on using case studies and gave their attendees opportunity to adapt case studies to their own classroom in classic active learning teaching strategies. Dr. Veld briefly described the process of writing and having a case study published. While working through part one of the case study the students demonstrated various ways to present the story and attendees got to be the “students” answering questions contained within the study. The case study exit question which is designed to pull all 4 parts together inspires attendees to finish the other 3 parts. Finally, the attendees were encouraged to write their own case studies and were given resources through the NSTA website
Therapeutic Use of Music for Geriatric Dementia Patients
Full text linkDementia impacts millions of individuals and their families worldwide, yet many caregivers remain untrained, unpaid, and unable to maintain their own health while caring for their patients. Despite the need for support, limited resources exist to aid these caregivers in combatting this progressive, debilitating disease. One possibility lies in practices rooted in music therapy, which have been shown to restore memory retention, personhood, and quality of life in dementia patients. However, individuals outside of music therapists, especially those with limited musical backgrounds, may not consider implementing music therapy within their care plan. To make this approach more accessible, a website was created that educates caregivers of geriatric dementia patients on how to implement the therapeutic use of music in their own caregiving situations regardless of their musical ability. Six reviewers, five caregivers and one music therapist, evaluated the website in a survey that assessed the website navigation, comprehensibility of the content, educational value, accessibility, and practicality for caregivers of dementia patients. The results of the survey indicated that the website content was easy to navigate, accessible, practical for a variety of caregiving settings, comprehensible to the general public, and educational for individuals of diverse musical backgrounds. Open-ended feedback from the survey was reviewed and used to revise the website content for re-publishing. The intent of this website is to reach as many caregivers as possible to help better not only the lives of their dementia patients but their own lives as well
Preprocessing of Astronomical Images from the NEOWISE Survey for Near-Earth Asteroid Detection with Machine Learning
Full text linkAsteroid detection is a common field in astronomy for planetary defense, requiring observations from survey telescopes to detect and classify different objects. The amount of data collected each night is continually increasing as new and better-designed telescopes begin collecting information each year. This amount of data is quickly becoming unmanageable, and researchers are looking for ways to better process this data. The most feasible current solution is to implement computer algorithms to automatically detect these sources and then use machine learning to create a more efficient and accurate method of classification. Implementation of such methods has previously focused on larger asteroids, but this leads to less accuracy in classifying smaller and slower-moving asteroids. We use the source data from the Near-Earth Object Widefield Infrared Survey Explorer (NEOWISE) survey telescope to create a preprocessing pipeline allowing for better training and testing data for machine learning algorithms. We were able to create a pipeline that finds sources on an image within 0.02 degrees as well as a collection of data on the known sources. Next, we used several machine learning classifying models, including a logistic regression classifier, a support vector machine (SVM), a naïve Bayes classifier, and a random forest. Finally, we present and discuss these results as a confusion matrix for each model, describing the ability to classify a source as an asteroid or not. This was done with only the numerical data collected. In the future, to create a better classifier, we would use this data along with classified images to develop a system that could predict the possibility of a detected source within a NEOWISE image being an asteroid or not
Sport Specialization and Injury Risk in NAIA Athletes
Full text linkBackground Sport specialization is defined as intense year-round training in a single sport while excluding other sports. Though some studies have supported a relationship between increased levels of sport specialization and injury risk, others have contradicted this. Previous literature has also suggested that sport specialization levels increase dramatically throughout high school, though this hypothesized increase and possible relationship between sport specialization and injury risk has not been investigated in posthigh school athletes at the NAIA level. Methods This study aimed to investigate the possible relationship between sport specialization and injury risk, as well as how sport specialization levels change throughout college. A questionnaire was distributed online to 251 undergraduate NAIA athletes, and participants were assessed according to their levels of specialization using a three-point scale. The injury history of participants was also gathered and compared to their level of specialization. Results The data were analyzed using correlational tests, showing a significant increase in specialization and a R2 value of 0.94 between injury frequency and level of specialization, though there were not enough unspecialized athletes to investigate a relationship between sport specialization and injury risk with regards to unspecialized athletes vs. specialized athletes. Conclusion It is difficult to draw conclusions regarding a relationship between sport specialization and injury risk. However, the increase in both specialization and injury rates within the levels of specialization shows the need for further research into both sport specialization and injury risk, as well as research into NAIA athletes specifically
Deepfake It Til You Make It: How To Make A Short Film
Full text linkA recent development in the realm of computer technology is the deepfake. Deepfakes, which train a computer model to digitally superimpose one person’s face onto another body in a separate video, has its uses for good and for ill, with the unfortunate tendency to the latter. The vast majority of deepfakes are used for pornography, most commonly depicting female celebrities as the subjects. At the less notable level, it is also often used for revenge pornography. These aspects of deepfake technology are rarely discussed in mainstream media, which tends to focus on the less harmful uses, such as those for comedic celebrity impersonations or for beneficial uses in film. Based on the background research, this project created a short film addressing these issues within a fictional but compelling story with the intention of raising awareness among the public
Kankakee in Deindustrialization: An Oral History Approach
Full text linkThe City of Kankakee was an industrialized city that prospered economically for decades. Throughout the late 1970s and 1980s, economic trends shifted for Kankakee and the surrounding communities. The major factories, such as Roper Corporation and A.O. Smith, migrated their source of production from Kankakee to other regions of the United States and abroad during the 1970s and 1980s. As a result, the declining industrial economic activity led to changing community perceptions. Kankakee is an example of the “Rust Belt” region, a region in the Midwestern and Northeastern States of the United States where declining industrial activity occurred throughout the 1970s and 1980s. The paper uses an Oral History Approach to investigate the changing economic landscape and community and individual perceptions of Kankakee during the Deindustrialization period