1,720,973 research outputs found
Knowledge construction of 3D geometry in virtual reality microworlds
No full textThe recent development of virtual reality (VR) technology carries powerful potential that can be utilised to facilitate the learning of 3D geometry. Therefore, a new approach for teaching and learning of 3D geometry that utilises a virtual reality learning environment (VRLE) is proposed in this research study. This research study aimed to: (a) design and evaluate a VRLE to facilitate the learning of 3D geometry concepts and processes by upper primary school students, and (b) generate theoretical and design principles that will have application both within and beyond the immediate research study. The research methodology employed was design experiments or design-based research. Informed by this methodology, the research design consisted of iterative cycles of developing/revising a conceptual framework, designing/prototyping a VRLE, enacting/evaluating the VRLE, and reflecting/redesigning the research. An initial conceptual framework was generated through extensive literature review to inform the design and evaluation of a VRLE. Based on the conceptual framework, a prototype VRLE named VRMath was then designed and implemented. The enactment and evaluation of VRMath consisted of two iterations. Iteration 1 (six hours/sessions with two students of Year 5 and 6) was conducted using the prototype VRMath (Yeh & Nason, 2004). Based on the findings from Iteration 1, nine learning activities were developed and research protocols (e.g., observation and interview) were revised for Iteration 2. Iteration 2 involved six primary school students (Year 4-5) for eight weeks (two hours/sessions per week). Findings from Iteration 2 confirmed and identified some usability issues of VRMath system and many new ways of thinking and doing 3D geometry when students interacted with VRMath. These have implications on the design of VRMath and the teaching and learning of 3D geometry within the VRMath environment. Justifications about the conceptual framework and students' learning within VRMath were made after the two iterations of enactment and evaluation. The learning activities and VRMath were also revised and redesigned for the preparation of future iterations. After a full cycle of the design-experiments, this research study concluded with a proto-theory (semiotic framework) for the design of and learning within VRLEs, and visions for using VRLEs in mathematic and technology education
Constructing a frame of cube : connecting 3D shapes with direction, location and movement
No full textWith the advancement of new technologies, this author has in 2010 started to engineer an online learning environment for investigating the nature and development of spatial abilities, and the teaching and learning of geometry. This paper documents how this new digital learning environment can afford the opportunity to integrate the learning about 3D shapes with direction, location and movement, and how young children can mentally and visually construct virtual 3D shapes using movements in both egocentric and fixed frames of reference (FOR). Findings suggest that year 4 (aged 9) children can develop the capacity to construct a cube using egocentric FOR only, fixed FOR only or a combination of both FOR. However, these young participants were unable to articulate the effect of individual or combined FOR movements. Directions for future research are proposed
VRMath: A 3D Microworld for Learning 3D Geometry
No full textThis paper reports on the design of a prototype VRLE (Virtual Reality Learning Environment) named VRMath. VRMath is an online application that utilises VR (Virtual Reality)technology combined with the power of a Logo-like programming language and hypermedia and the Internet to facilitate the learning of 3-Dimensional (3D) geometry concepts and processes. VRMath is being designed within the framework of a design-experiment (The Design-Based Research Collective, 2003) during which VRMath will evolve through a series of iteration cycles of design à enactment à reflection à redesign into an educational tool that will provide mathematics educators with new and more powerful ways of facilitating the construction of 3D geometry knowledge. During these iteration cycles, in addition to many new ways about thinking and doing mathematics being identified, implications to inform the future design of this and other VRLEs also will emerge
Two Turns Must Take Turns: Primary School Students’ Cognition about 3D Rotation in a Virtual Reality Learning Environment
No full textThis paper reports on five primary school students’ explorations of 3D rotation in a virtual reality learning environment (VRLE) named VRMath. When asked to investigate if you would face the same direction when you turn right 45 degrees first then roll up 45 degrees, or when you roll up 45 degrees first then turn right 45 degrees, the students found that the different order of the two turns ended up with different directions in the VRLE. This was contrary to the students’ prior predictions based on using pen, paper and body movements. The findings of this study showed the difficulty young children have in perceiving and understanding the non-commutative nature of 3D rotation and the power of the computational VRLE in giving students experiences that they rarely have in real life with 3D manipulations and 3D mental movements
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe 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
Identifying Chinese secondary teachers’ needs for professional development abroad
No full textChina is at a crucial point for reforming its education system and seeks professional development abroad for selective secondary teachers. In this study, 13 experienced Chinese physics teachers undertook an intensive four-week professional development program in Australia. Early discussion with the participants and two surveys (i.e., mid-evaluation and end-evaluation surveys) aimed to gather qualitative responses for determining their needs for professional development. Data highlighted the essential nature of school visits for observing teaching practices, accurate translations, and the inclusion of physics-based excursions. Yet, apart from addressing personal and social needs, it was concluded future professional development must focus on delivering advanced content knowledge related specifically to the Chinese Curriculum Standards, and current pedagogical approaches and theories that branch beyond the transmission approach employed in China. The information in this study aims to assist other tertiary institutions conducting professional development programs for Chinese teachers
Facilitating growth in prospective teachers’ knowledge : teaching geometry in primary schools
No full textThis paper reports on a study that focused on growth of understanding about teaching geometry by a group of prospective teachers engaged in lesson plan study within a computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) environment. Participation in the activity was found to facilitate considerable growth in the participants’ pedagogical-content knowledge (PCK). Factors that influenced growth in PCK included the nature of the lesson planning task, the cognitive scaffolds inserted into the CSCL virtual space, the meta-language scaffolds provided to the participants, and the provision of both private and public discourse spaces. The paper concludes with recommendations for enhancing effective knowledge-building discourse about mathematics PCK within prospective teacher education CSCL environments
Variations on the Author
Full text link“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
Students’ and teachers’ perceptions of classroom learning environment in Bhutanese eighth-grade mathematics classes
No full textThis paper reports a study of students’ and teachers’ perceptions of their classroom learning environment in Bhutanese eighth-grade mathematics classes. Research suggests that positive perceptions of the learning environment can have a positive influence on students’ learning outcomes, interest and engagement in classroom activities. The study was conducted in 2013, using the survey samples of 608 students and 98 teachers from 22 lower- and middle-secondary schools in western Bhutan. Students’ and teachers’ perceptions of the classroom environment were measured using the <i>Mathematics Classroom Learning Environment Survey</i> (MCLES). Students and teachers mostly perceived their classroom environments favourably on the MCLES scales irrespective of gender, school level and school location. The study is significant for understanding and evaluating the implementation of new mathematics curriculum in Bhutanese schools because it could guide the development of strategies for more-productive mathematics classroom learning. It is also significant from the perspective of Bhutan’s national goal of Gross National Happiness because perceptions and happiness always go hand-in-hand
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