Classroom Experiment Research Articles

Online platforms for classroom experiments: A primer for new adoptees

The use of experiments in the undergraduate economics classroom has been shown to have pedagogical value in increasing student learning and engagement, but the startup costs of adopting classroom experiments can be high for instructors. This article serves as a guide to adoption for the first-time user of computerized (online) classroom experiments. It covers the three major online classroom experiment platforms: MobLab, classEx, and VeconLab, and compares the use of online platforms to manual implementation of experiments. It also includes a discussion of which characteristics of online platforms determine their suitability for different classroom contexts and learning modalities and compares the three major platforms along these dimensions.

Future Agriculture Faculty Experiences Using Digital Assessment Tools in an Experimental Classroom

The capacity for effective utilization of technology is increasing in importance in the scholarship of teaching and learning practice in agricultural education. There is scarce literature exploring students’ perceptions of the use of digital assessment tools (DATs). This study aimed to explore the experiences and perceptions of graduate students enrolled in a teaching and learning course towards DATs while investigating how the experimental active learning space impacted the way participants experienced DATs. Participants were divided into two focus groups, which, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, were conducted via Zoom. The research used phenomenology as the qualitative approach to answer the research questions. Thematic Analysis was utilized as the method of data analysis. DATs were experienced by participants as new opportunities to enhance their assessment practice in educational settings. While recognizing the advantages of DATs, participants perceived new challenges in implementing them, particularly concerns over technology requirements. Participants reported a mixed educational experience in the new classroom. Whereas some participants felt the space was overwhelming and confusing, some students considered that the experimental classroom features made the space more collaborative. Finally, utilizing DATs in an experimental classroom was experienced as a new and enhanced way to adopt assessment tools.

Improving long-term retention: promoting distributed practice in an introductory economics course

This paper reports on a classroom experiment that tested whether increased use of a pedagogical approach known as distributed practice can lead to enhanced long-term retention of material covered in an Introduction to Economics course. In a distributed practice approach, students are encouraged to learn course material over a longer period of time and to keep coming back to the same material more than once. This contrasts with more traditional pedagogical approaches that effectively encourage students to cram for exams in a short space of time. Students in a class that made more frequent use of comprehensive exams across a semester, and students in a class that employed a more traditional assessment structure, re-took an exam on core economic concepts one year after the end of semester to test their long-term retention of these concepts. Results from this experiment indicate a positive correlation between post-semester test scores and participation in the section that used more frequent comprehensive exams, controlling for parental education, the taking of other economics courses, original course grade, and other relevant variables. These results suggest the effectiveness of the high-frequency assessment strategy and the associated distributed practice approach to learning. Implications for future work are also considered.

A Tag-Based Solution for Safer Parallel STL Usage

Abstract The continuous evolution of programming languages creates a challenge not only for the compiler implementers but also for the regular developers. The C++17 standard introduced the Parallel STL library, a parallel extension of the original and fundamental Standard Template Library (STL) with the promise to achieve safe, efficient, and scalable parallel programming in an easy way. While the syntax remained familiar, the new parallel algorithms introduced additional requirements, which are often ignored even by experienced programmers. In this paper, we investigate the root cause of the misuse of the Parallel STL. We carried out a classroom experiment to measure the programmers’ behaviour when programming using the Parallel STL and found that the major issue is not that their code would be erroneous, but the lack of awareness of the semantic requirements of parallel functors. While a fully automatic detection of erroneous constructs is computationally infeasible to achieve, we introduce a framework with which the developer will be able to indicate – axiomatically, based on absolute trust – that an operation has “safe” properties required by the algorithms. We implemented a prototype of the proposed framework to demonstrate its usability and effectiveness.

Research on College English ESP Teaching Model and Skills of Vocational Universities

This essay discusses the research on an ESP (English for Specific Purposes) teaching model for college English courses for health management majors in vocational universities. The study consists of two stages: a needs analysis and the development and evaluation of an ESP teaching model based on the analysis results. The needs analysis was conducted through a questionnaire survey and interviews with health management majors and teachers. The ESP teaching model includes a syllabus design based on the specific language needs of health management majors, a task-based teaching approach, authentic materials and contexts, and learner-centered instruction. The model was evaluated through a classroom experiment and feedback from students and teachers. The results showed that the ESP teaching model was well-received by health management majors and teachers, and improved their English language proficiency and prepared them for their future careers.

A Flipped Classroom Experiment in Growth Theory.

This study utilizes a classroom experiment to determine the effectiveness of the flipped classroom in a growth theory module of intermediate macroeconomics. We compare the performance of small section flipped groups to control groups at a liberal arts college. The treatment groups watched growth lecture videos before class, while the control groups followed a traditional lecture format. The results provide no evidence of superior performance by the treatment sections. They show that the main determinant of a student's performance is high school quality. The careful preparation to minimize differences across students from different socio-economic backgrounds is essential.

BUILDING LEARNERS’ CONCEPTUAL KNOWLEDGE AND DIGITAL LITERACY WITH PBL-BASED E-STUDENT WORKSHEET

The objective of this research was to see the role of the electronic student worksheet based on Problem-Based-Learning (PBL-based E-SW) to build conceptual knowledge and digital literacy. This research used a static pretest-posttest design. The population was students in Padangcermin Public Senior high School, in Pesawaran. Samples were taken by cluster random sampling, and they consisted of 35 students in the experiment classroom and 35 students in the control classroom. The experiment classroom was taught using PBL-based E-SW and the control classroom was taught using worksheet used to teach in the school. The result showed that there was a significant influence of using PBL-based E-SW to build conceptual knowledge and digital literacy of students. Paired sample t-test result was less than 0.05, and this indicated a significant difference in average n-gain scores between the experiment and control classrooms. The average n-gain scores on conceptual knowledge were 0.61 or belonging to a moderate category in the experiment classroom and 0.41 or belonging to a moderate category in the control classroom. The average n-gain scores on digital literacy were 0.89 or belonging to a high category in the experiment classroom and 0.67 or belonging to a moderate category in the control classroom.

Social-Psychological Issues in EFL Speaking Class based on Collaborative Learning

Collaborative learning (CL) is relatively a novel approach applied in teaching speaking at the context of English as a foreign language (EFL). Statistically, even if CL has widely been investigated in the field of language teaching, it is still rarely found articles discussing CL issues related to social-psychological perspective. Therefore, this study has the purpose of investigating the variables that influence and are encountered by the student's speaking abilities during cooperation. Five students were used in the research in order to conduct an interview. They were deliberately chosen from their peers because they spoke English the best. Information was acquired through an online interview via the use of the WhatsApp calling app. Additionally, the ATLAS.ti application was used to evaluate the collected data. The results showed that 25 sub-dimensions and three major dimensions: social cognition, relationships, and social behavior significantly affected students' speaking abilities in EFL. The curriculum creator is advised to include social psychology into the English language instruction curriculum nevertheless. It suggests a classroom experiment with planned and unplanned speaking performances for further research.

The physics of outdoor air conditioning and evaporative cooling

In outdoor air conditioning (AC) systems, a fine spray of water mist is used to evaporate water and extract heat from the air. Misting systems use high pressure nozzles to produce water drops 5 μm in diameter. This dramatically increases the surface area of the water–air interface for a given volume of water facilitating heat transfer from air to water. Small drops stay suspended in the air for a sufficient amount of time to allow complete evaporation. An example of a misting system in operation at a Café in Montville, Queensland, Australia is discussed. As well as being cheaper to run, misting systems are less harmful to the environment since they reduce the dependence on indoor AC. This is an important topic to discuss with students in relation to climate change. A classroom experiment suitable for senior secondary and first-year university students is described in which a fan is used to blow air across a shallow container of water placed on an electronic balance. The experiment was performed throughout the day and night during periods of low and high humidity. Data collected from this experiment indicated that evaporation was much higher during the day than at night. In view of climate change and global warming, heat, energy and evaporation are important subjects to teach students, especially considering that these students will soon be adults making important decisions around sustainability and environmental protection in their day-to-day lives, and develope future policies to mitigate the impact of climate change.

Examining Students’ Perceptions of Indonesian High School Students on the Use of TikTok in Learning English

With the availability of mobile devices and Web 2.0 technologies, various networking apps have become essential to English language learning (ELL). TikTok, a global app similar to YouTube, WhatsApp, Instagram, and Twitter, is becoming increasingly popular. TikTok is a video-sharing app that allows users to produce and share content while discovering material from other users. TikTok has yet to be thoroughly researched for educational purposes. However, some research suggests that social media can help language learners. This study evaluated Islamic school students' perspectives on using TikTok to learn English to enhance four English skills. In this study, 55 high school students from an Islamic country participated in an online quantitative research survey. The information was gathered using a Google Forms questionnaire. According to the research, students were enthusiastic about utilizing TikTok as a visual aid in enhancing their English skills. Writing was discovered to be the least likely of the four English skills to develop using TikTok Apps. Besides, students also stated a high preference for watching native English channels rather than local channels when learning English. As a result, TikTok has the potential to affect pupils' English proficiency positively. As a result, students and teachers can mix social networking apps to enhance English teaching and learning. Further research may be performed to look at students' voices, in the future teachers' views, and an experimental classroom design.

SYNCHRONISING ONLINE RESOURCE (PENZU) AND COMPUTER APPLICATION FOR LANGUAGE INSTRUCTIONS: A PAKISTANI POST COVID-19 PANDEMIC CONTEXT

Pakistan is going through a period of transition after Covid-19 pandemic situation which created a dire need to use computer as a tool and other online resources in the classrooms. To contribute to this situation, the present study investigated the effects of using computer as a tool and Penzu software as online source for language instructions. The study used experimental design and conducted a classroom experiment of 40 higher secondary school students (20 experimental & 20 in control group) through pre/post-tests over different period of time to examine development in students’ writing skills. On post-test-I, it was observed that students in the control group showed sudden rise in the development of writing skills compared to experimental group. But, on post-test-II and III, students in the experimental group showed consistency in the development in writing skills while control group could not maintain their consistency of development in writings. Hence, findings of the study revealed that using computer as a tool for instructions and Penzu as online resource to conduct writing activities proved more useful in improving students’ writing skills compared to the students in the control group. Finally, findings also revealed that students became more independent in self-corrections in the experimental group and continued to expand their learning outside the classroom while control group was dependent on teacher and could only find time in the classroom for corrective feedback which limited students’ learning to their classroom. In addition to this, the study recommends that further computer applications and other online resources can be more useful in language instructions apart from teaching writing skills. Besides, findings of this study have significant theoretical and practical implications pertaining to EFL teachers’ professional development, teaching skills and students’ learning environment.

LAWFUL INSTRUCTION OF USING CALI FOR HIGHER SECONDARY LEVEL STUDENTS IN PAKISTAN: THE POST COVID-19 CONTEXT

Post-Covid-19 pandemic situation has created a dire need to use computer in the instructional methodology synchronising with other online resources in the classrooms. The present study was conducted to examine the effects of using computer synchronised by Penzu software as online source for teaching English to the higher secondary school students in Punjab, Pakistan. The study used experimental design and conducted a classroom experiment of 40 higher secondary school students (20 experimental & 20 in control group) through pre/post-tests over different period of time to examine development in students’ writing skills. On post-test-I, it was observed that students in the control group showed sudden rise in the development of writing skills compared to experimental group. But, on post-test-II and III, students in the experimental group showed consistency in the development in writing skills while control group could not maintain their consistency of development in writings. Hence, findings of the study revealed that using computer as a tool for instructions and Penzu as online resource to conduct writing activities proved more useful in improving students’ writing skills compared to the students in the control group. Finally, findings also revealed that students became more independent in self-corrections in the experimental group and continued to expand their learning outside the classroom while control group was dependent on teacher and could only find time in the classroom for corrective feedback which limited students’ learning to their classroom. In addition to this, the study recommends that further computer applications and other online resources can be more useful in language instructions apart from teaching writing skills. Besides, findings of this study have significant theoretical and practical implications pertaining to EFL teachers’ professional development, teaching skills and students’ learning environment.

Research on Three-Dimensional Teaching Reform Based on Ability Improvement Example of Pharmaceutical Analysis

The pharmaceutical analysis course is an important bridge to train students' competence in evaluating drug quality. The members of the research group combined the position requirements of quality control (QC) in pharmaceutical factory with many years of teaching experience, and wrote the pharmaceutical analysis experiment handout and PBL teaching case in line with the development of The Times. This paper analyzes the relationship between the key words in PBL case and the knowledge of the pharmaceutical analysis course, expounds the implementation process of PBL teaching and its significance, and briefly introduces the rain classroom and virtual simulation experiment platform used in teaching. Over the years, the teaching mode of combining rain classroom, PBL and virtual simulation experiment has gradually become the feature of the course of pharmaceutical analysis in our school. This paper discusses the three-dimensional teaching reform of rain classroom, PBL and virtual simulation experiment, and analyzes the teaching effect of the teaching reform with a questionnaire survey. The change of students' learning ability is analyzed from the aspects of student achievement, student self-evaluation and mutual evaluation and classroom evaluation, and it is found that the teaching mode can improve students' self-learning ability, critical thinking innovation ability, and cooperation and communication ability to a certain extent.

The design narrative in design learning: Adjusting the inertia of attention and enhancing design integrity

This paper aims to guide students to adjust their attention by designing narratives and exploring the habitual ways in students’ narratives; the impact of narrative integration on students’ overall design. This study was a classroom experiment. We found that students would focus on specific areas in the narrative expression; there was a fixed attention pattern, the results of narrative expression were more affluent and diverse, and they could pay attention to content that was easy to ignore. The results of students’ performance after design narrative training show that narrative training can effectively enhance students’ attention to the key points that should be included in the design, with details and emotional content that we tend to ignore.

Inconsistent choices over prospect theory lottery games: Evidence from field experiments

Expected utility theory and classroom experiments have been commonly used to test the consistency and/or stability of elicited risk preferences among individuals. Usually conducted in developed countries, these studies have shown that risk preferences are inconsistent or unstable. However, the literature falls short when assessing the consistency of risk preferences under the Prospect Theory (PT) paradigm. This study reports the results of lottery games, played during two consecutive experimental sessions, to test the consistency of PT risk preferences among smallholder farmers in Ecuador, a developing country. I find evidence of consistency in the farmers’ risk preferences at the sample level. Nonetheless, I find inconsistency in risk preferences (risk aversion, probability distortion, and loss-aversion) at the individual level. I assess whether there is heterogeneity in the results across farmers’ demographic and socioeconomic attributes. Evidence suggests that relative consistency in the degree of loss aversion is higher among farmers who are female, own larger farms, and are more educated.

Classroom experiments on technology licensing: Royalty stacking, cross-licensing, and patent pools

The authors present two classroom experiments on technology licensing. The first classroom experiment introduces the concept of royalty stacking. Students learn that noncooperative pricing of royalties for complementary intellectual property rights leads to a double-marginalization effect. Cooperation solves the problem and is welfare-improving. The second classroom experiment introduces students to cross-licensing. It shows that reciprocal royalty payments dampen competition. The classroom experiments stimulate discussions of technology licensing, intellectual property rights, different royalty structures, patent pools, and technology standards. The authors present the experimental procedures and suggest routes for the discussion.

Climate change mitigation under uncertainty and inequality: A classroom experiment

A novel game that captures the central dimensions of climate change mitigation as a social dilemma is presented. Students play the role of countries sharing a global atmosphere. In each round, carbon emissions are released and accumulated in the atmosphere, making climate change consequences more severe and difficult to mitigate over time. Without mitigation, CO2 accumulations will cause losses to all countries. During each round, countries decide on how to invest their endowments between economic development and mitigation to slow down carbon emissions causing climate change. Central to the game and the subsequent classroom discussions are implications emanating from introducing uncertainty and inequality in the game. The game is suitable for courses related to environmental economics and climate policy at undergraduate and graduate levels.

Incorporating Problem-Posing into Sixth-Grade Mathematics Classes

Problem-posing is an essential component of mathematics education because, among other reasons, when students are given the opportunity to pose their problems, they can take ownership of their learning and become more engaged in the given subject. Thus, problem-posing can lead to a deeper understanding of the studied mathematical concepts. In a collaborative action research study, the authors explored whether well-structured problem-posing activities could be incorporated into classes with students of mixed ability in mathematics. This question is addressed by examining the correlation between students’ mathematics grades and problem-posing success. The problem-posing approach used in this paper relies on problem solving as a parallel activity. Hence, the study also focuses on the relationship between problem posing and problem solving. The paper presents the results of a classroom experiment with 86 sixth-grade students and their teachers from Hungary and Romania. After evaluating the students’ problem-posing products and problem-solving performances, the results show that problem posing, based on a worked-out model problem, is a feasible challenge for most students. Moreover, this experiment identified a direct relationship between successful problem posing and problem solving.

Computer-based multimedia testing: Effects of static and animated representational pictures and text modality

Static representational pictures (RPs) have been focused in research on the multimedia effect in testing and might be especially important in arithmetical word problems, which require a multi-stage mental processing to segment the task. To further highlight the task segments visually, dynamic visualizations could help. However, conventional animations might not apply to this context and the role of dynamic visualizations with temporal segmentations (i.e., animated RPs) is unexplored. This classroom experiment with 456 students investigated multimedia and modality effects in 24 mathematical word problems. Our 3 × 2 mixed design included three multimedia conditions (static RPs, animated RPs, and text-only) and two modality conditions (written text vs spoken text). We investigated effects on response correctness, metacognitive ratings, item-solving satisfaction and time on task. Both static and animated RPs increased response correctness, item-solving satisfaction, and metacognitive ratings compared to text-only. Time on task was affected in distinctive ways in both RP conditions and also varied depending on text modality. Spoken text barely increased response correctness in animated RP items but not at all in static RP items. Moderator analyses revealed that the effects of static and animated RPs on response correctness were dependent on the text modality but varied across school types and the level of mathematical prior knowledge. For students at non-academic-track schools or with low prior knowledge, static and animated RPs improved response correctness compared to text-only across both modalities. For students at academic-track schools or with high prior knowledge, mainly combinations of static or animated RPs with spoken text were effective.

Determining the True Performance of a HPLC Column: A Simulation-Based Experiment

Performing HPLC-based experiments in the undergraduate practical classroom is difficult because of the time required to perform an analysis. This limits the type of practical to one that undertakes a simple quantitative analysis. However, with the use of sophisticated simulators, such as the one employed in this exercise, more complex experiments can be designed. In this exercise, the students use the simulator to evaluate the significance of extra column dead volume on the efficiency of a column. HETP curves are constructed by measuring the column efficiency at a variety of flow rates. In addition, the variance of a band migrating through the system without a column connected is determined, and subsequently, the band variance of the solute migrating through the column is corrected for system variance at each flow rate. By comparing the HETP plots (corrected and uncorrected), the significance of the extra column effects can be determined. In the present study, this amounted to a doubling of the number of theoretical plates at the highest flow rate test.