1,720,966 research outputs found
Informal Learning in a Museum Setting: A Case Study with Language Science
Get PDFInformal science learning experiences (ISE) – including activities and demonstrations in science museums – are an important source of science learning throughout the lifespan (Miller, 2004) and an important way of fostering desire to engage with scientific information (Sentürk and Özdemir 2014). Science understanding is noticeably low among the general public (Funk and Goo 2015). ISE offers a promising opportunity for filling in the gaps of the public’s scientific understanding. ISE has typically been conducted using traditional science fields (such as physics), however we propose that using a nontraditional area of science could serve to appeal to audiences that are typically less engaged with science. For instance, women are typically less interested in science and technology careers, despite having equal aptitude for those fields (Aud et al, 2010). By presenting science using alternative fields, we may be able to engage broader audiences. This study explored family learning outcomes when interacting with an informal science activity based on language science. The activity was based around the Stroop Effect and was designed to teach learners that reading is an automatic process. We examined how participants interacted with the activity to explore factors associated with a better understanding of the educational content of the activity.
Twelve family groups participated consisting of 20 adults and 19 children. Participants were videotaped as they engaged in the Stroop activity and through a follow-up interview. Sessions were transcribed and coded using emergent coding to reveal the types of statements that were made by participants. The majority of statements were related to either the educational message of the game, science as a concept/field, or the nature of the activity itself. Each of these main categories contained unique subcategories of responses that were examined as well.
Overall, the activity was successful at conveying scientific information using language science. Every group contributed discussion relating to the educational message of the game, and 67% of the groups demonstrated a full understanding of the content. Adults and children both discussed the activity more than science or the educational message. Within these three main categories, adults and children contributed different percentages of subcategory responses. For example, a greater percentage of science statements made by adults were related to scientific information than those made by children. Several types of responses were associated with level of discussion a group made that demonstrated an understanding of the activity’s educational message. Most notably, the percentage of statements made by a family focusing on the sensation of engaging with the activity was associated with a greater percentage of statements that reflected a full understanding of the activity’s content (R2= 0.43). Additionally, the percentage of statements focusing on reading-related aspects of the game was negatively associated with full understanding (R2= 0.41). The results of this research suggest directions for improving the design of informal science activities and demonstrate the potential benefits of using a non-traditional science field to educate the public.No embargoAcademic Major: Psycholog
Broadening Interest in Science Through Inquiry-Based Learning in Undergraduate Social Science Classrooms
Get PDFDespite the fact that a basic level of science understanding has become critical for every day decision-making, public interest in science in the United States is low, especially among women and individuals from minoritized groups. In light of this, there is a need for educational practices that encourage the broadening of participation in the scientific enterprise. This paper has three objectives. The first is to present an overview of the learning benefits of inquiry-based instruction as implemented in STEM-related fields, with a focus on traditionally underserved students (women, students from minoritized groups, and first-generation students). The second is to reflect on one model for implementing inquiry into a classroom situated in the social sciences. Finally, the article presents the argument that the implementation of inquiry-based practices into courses in the social sciences may serve to broaden public interest and participation in the scientific enterprise. This is because women and students from minoritized groups are much more likely to major in social sciences than STEM-related fields
Do scalar implicatures prime? The case of exclusive 'or'
No full textUnderstanding language requires comprehenders to understand not only what speakers say, but what speakers might imply. Scalar items (e.g. some, numerals) often invite comprehenders to compute scalar implicatures, pragmatically strengthening the semantic meaning of scalar items by negating their stronger alternatives. Recent priming evidence suggests that scalar implicatures may share underlying mechanisms, priming both within and between implicature types. We report two experiments designed to extend these finding to or, which has an inclusive meaning that can be strengthened to an exclusive meaning, potentially via scalar implicature. Experiment 1 investigated or alongside some and numerals, holding the number of visual symbols constant. Experiment 2 reduced the visual complexity of Experiment 1. Both experiments found robust within-category priming, but failed to fully replicate or extend between-category priming effects. We discuss implications of these results with respect to visual manipulations and the potential fragility of priming across different categories of scalar implicature
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Singular Interpretations Linger During the Processing of Plural Noun Phrases
Get PDFPlural nouns do not strictly refer to more than one object, whichsuggests that they are not semantically marked to mean “more thanone” and that plurality inferences are made via a scalarimplicature. Consistent with that hypothesis, recent evidence usinga picture-matching paradigm supports founds that participantswere equally fast to respond to a picture of a single object as apicture of multiple objects after reading a sentence containing aplural. This suggests that comprehenders activate both a semantic(i.e., singular) and a pragmatic interpretation (i.e., plural). Thecurrent study found that even after a 1500 ms delay,comprehenders still maintain activation of both meanings afterreading a sentence containing a plural. This suggests that theactivation of the singular meaning may not be due to theprocessing of a scalar implicature, but rather may be due to thenature of plural conceptual representation
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Get PDFThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Get PDF“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Promoting interest in science through inquiry-based learning in undergraduate linguistics: A case study
Get PDFIn an effort to broaden interest in science, STEM educators advocate for the use of inquiry-based pedagogies. These pedagogies actively engage students in the scientific process, thereby increasing students\u27 scientific literacy, as well as their confidence and interest in science. Although inquiry has been widely implemented in canonical STEM-related fields, students in linguistics, a scientific discipline, can likewise benefit from these approaches. This paper presents a case study of the implementation of inquiry through guided discussion in an undergraduate course in psycholinguistics. Results indicated that students rated the inquiry course as more stimulating/engaging and rated their learning and desire to continue learning as higher
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Get PDFWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
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