The increasing availability of massive volumes of scientific data requires new synthetic analysis techniques to explore and identify interesting patterns that are otherwise not apparent. For biodiversity studies, a "data-driven" approach is necessary because of the complexity of ecological systems, particularly when viewed at large spatial and…

The interesting papers by Margaritondo (2005 "Eur. J. Phys." 26 401) and by Helene and Yamashita (2006 "Eur. J. Phys." 27 855) analysed the great Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004 using a simple one-dimensional canal wave model, which was appropriate for undergraduate students in physics and related fields of discipline. In this paper, two additional,…

a-stratification is a method that utilizes items with small discrimination (a) parameters early in an exam and those with higher a values when more is learned about the ability parameter. It can achieve much better item usage than the maximum information criterion (MIC). To make a-stratification more practical and more widely applicable, a method…

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of an 11th-grade and 12th-grade zoo-based academic high school experiential science program compared to a same school-district school-based academic high school experiential science program on students' pretest and posttest science, math, and reading achievement, and student perceptions of…

This study proposed a novel instructional approach, a two-stage LED simulation of Project-based learning (PBL) course with online peer assessment (OPA), and explored how to apply OPA to the different structured problems in a PBL course to enhance students' professional skills in LED design as well as meta-cognitive thinking. The participants of…

This paper reports on an experience carried out with second course students of the School of Aeronautical Engineers at the Polytechnic University of Madrid in the subject class Modern Technical Language. In the previous years the problem in that class had been the scarce participation of the students in the oral practices. They seemed to be lead…

We develop an Easy Java Simulation (EJS) model for students to experience the physics of idealized one-dimensional collision carts. The physics model is described and simulated by both continuous dynamics and discrete transition during collision. In designing the simulations, we discuss briefly three pedagogical considerations namely (1) a…

In this year-long qualitative study we explore the case of two eighth grade U.S. History teachers who use simulations on a regular basis to teach heterogeneously-grouped students in a high-stakes testing environment. We describe the purposes the teachers espoused for implementing simulations and provide detailed portraits of three types of…

In this paper we propose adapting role-play teaching methodology to engineering studies. The role of a maintenance technician, a relevant job profile for engineering graduates is has chosen. The interaction is based on email exchange, with the instructor included in the simulation to help guide the activity and achieve learning objectives. In this…

Standardized testing has been part of the American educational system for decades. Controversy from the beginning has plagued standardized testing, is plaguing testing today, and will continue to be controversial. Given the current federal educational policies supporting increased standardized testing, psychometricians, educators and policy makers…

This article describes a simulation-based teaching approach that helps university students learn about negotiation in the context of environmental regulatory enforcement. The approach centers on negotiation of a penalty between government agencies and a fictitious corporation that has violated provisions of the U.S. Clean Water Act. The exercise…

Technological imagination and actual technological achievements have always been two very different things. Sudden and unpredictable events always seem to intervene between our visions regarding possible futures and the subsequent concrete realizations. Thus, our ideas and projects are continually being redirected. In the field of…

The accuracy of CAT scores can be negatively affected by local dependence if the CAT utilizes parameters that are misspecified due to the presence of local dependence and/or fails to control for local dependence in responses during the administration stage. This article evaluates the existence and effect of local dependence in a test of…

This article points out an unexpected but common misconception by students dealing with the exponential distribution.

This paper addresses the nature of the temporary storage buffer used in implicit or statistical learning. Kuhn and Dienes [Kuhn, G., & Dienes, Z. (2005). Implicit learning of nonlocal musical rules: implicitly learning more than chunks. "Journal of Experimental Psychology-Learning Memory and Cognition," 31(6) 1417-1432] showed that people could…