Liberal Arts Students Research Articles

Gender and Social Justice: An Examination of Attitudes and Behaviors Among Undergraduate Liberal Arts Students

This study examines university student attitudes concerning social justice and their perceptions of inequality. In this article, we explore how gender shapes students’ understanding of issues of inequality, sexism, racism, classism, and their inclinations to act against these issues. This research seeks to explore how gender shapes students’ understanding of social justice. Moreover, it seeks to answer the following questions: Are women or men more willing to engage in social justice actions? Are women or men more likely to recognize and perceive inequality? Lastly, are women or men more determined to do something to achieve social justice? Results show that women students are far more likely to identify inequality and engage in actions to achieve social justice.

Suggestions for Law School Seminars

I have taught a number of law-school seminars over the last 18+ years. With quite direct inspiration from a teacher I had the good fortune to study under as a liberal-arts student at St. John’s College in Annapolis, Maryland, I offer a small number of focused suggestions to foster more informative, rewarding conversations in any conventional law school seminar.

Paris in Architecture, Literature, and Art. By May Spangler

This textbook responds to the burgeoning popularity of Paris studies and is aimed at American liberal arts students. It takes us through the various phases of the development of the French capital, from Gallo-Roman Lutetia to the Beaubourg and postmodern Paris. Students deepen their knowledge through the study of architecture and art, as well as literary extracts and films concerning each period, for example the Wars of Religion as evoked in Agrippa d’Aubigné’s Les Tragiques and Patrice Chéreau’s La Reine Margot (1994). The study of texts and images is complemented by classroom interaction and internet searches. For example, in order to understand the Gothic experience of light, students are asked to form groups of two and reflect on times they were touched by light. They then share the results with the class and classify them in Kantian categories. Another example of interaction is a virtual visit to the Eiffel Tower, where students look online for images that may embody Impressionist principles. In general, the course is useful, engaging, and uncontroversial, and May Spangler displays her considerable knowledge of architecture and art. But inevitably such a book will fall foul of some Paris aficionados. Despite (or because of?) her long-time residence in Paris (we do not know which arrondissement), Spangler gives no sense of the social and geographical diversity of the city intra muros that resisted Haussmannization. The Paris Commune, a historic example of spatial class struggle, is hardly mentioned. If Louis Chevalier and Jean-François Lyotard make the postmodern section, there is no place for Henri Lefebvre or the Situationists. The ‘Underprivileged Banlieue’ is tacked on at the end like some afterthought of a liberal guilty conscience and predictably portrayed through the film La Haine (dir. by Mathieu Kassovitz, 1995). This merely reinforces a caricatural view of the so-called quartiers difficiles and, again, erases the diversity of the Parisian suburbs, especially as the construction of le Grand Paris, a new, sustainable city for the twenty-first century that aims to break down the inequalities of wealth and power in the Paris region (and which, contrary to what the author asserts, is not dogmatically opposed by the left), proceeds apace. For all its richness, this book reinforces a reified relationship between students and a Paris reduced to great buildings and the great men (and occasionally women) associated with them, a sense of distance aggravated by the use of English as medium. However steeped in Parisian architecture, art, and literature, you have the impression that, upon finally crossing the Pond, students will explore the City of Light very much as tourists.

An Empirical Research on Mathematical Case Development in Mathematical Teaching in Liberal Arts College

In order to explore mathematics learning methods suitable for liberal arts students specially and the educational value of mathematics application cases developed by liberal arts students, an experiment of mathematics application case study was carried out in the first grade liberal arts undergraduate students. 205 mathematics application cases have been obtained, and case studies were used with the statistical summarization and analytical generalization methods. From 2009 to 2013, about 531 liberal arts freshmen in statistical course completed a total of 90 mathematics survey reports containing the university campus life (58 cases), professional related research (21 cases), social issues (11 cases) and so on. From 2014 to 2018, liberal arts students completed 115 mathematics application cases in Applied Probability and Statistics class which can be divided into 3 categories according to the degree of innovation: using mathematical knowledge to solve problems (79 cases), empirical survey (14 cases) and literature analysis (22 cases). The case topics selected by liberal arts students are all related to their own interests, and the innovative uses are for the vast majority. Conclusion: (i) writing a mathematics survey report is an appropriate way for students to apply mathematics; (ii) mathematics application is the fusion of interest and knowledge in probability and statistical area for liberal arts undergraduate students; (iii) the development process of mathematics application cases can demonstrate innovative thinking and application ability for liberal arts undergraduate students.

On the causes and Countermeasures of low learning efficiency of Higher Mathematics for liberal arts students in Colleges and Universities

On the causes and Countermeasures of low learning efficiency of Higher Mathematics for liberal arts students in Colleges and Universities

Evaluating engineering thinking in undergraduate engineering and liberal arts students

ABSTRACTThis study explored if it is possible for liberal arts students to develop engineering professional competencies without detailed engagement with the engineering sciences. Students on a Bachelor of Arts and Sciences programme were compared with their undergraduate peers in Civil Engineering. A new method for evaluating such competencies was developed. Two one-hour individual problem-solving exercises were devised to assess capabilities against 14 criteria, based on the Institution of Civil Engineers’ Competency framework for professional development (2011 The BASc cohort’s scores for each criterion improved notably from the start of term to the end. This cohort rated their capabilities more highly at the end of term and was more satisfied with the answers they gave. Engineering students showed a slight decline in performance against the criteria. Self-evaluation in this group revealed a smaller increase in perceived capability but increased dissatisfaction. Both cohorts felt more anxious about the assignment at the end of the term. PBL environments can improve student competence in attributes associated with professional engineering. The scope of the study is constrained by the small cohort but the findings and evaluation method provide the basis for further development, including detailed statistical evaluation and validation of the evaluation instrument.

From Conceptual Frameworks To Mental Models For Astronomy: Students' Perceptions

Considerable debate exists among discipline-based astronomy education researchers about how students change their perceptions in science and astronomy. The study questioned the development of astronomical models among students in institutions of higher education by examining how college students change their initial conceptual frameworks and construct mental models in astronomy. The study considers four areas of astronomical knowledge: "sky observations," "Earth and its orbit," "solar system" and "stars” by implementing a recently developed research tool - Conceptual Frameworks in Astronomy (CFA) (Pundak, 2016). The responses of 537 undergraduates from three Israeli colleges were classified into one of four mental models: pre-scientific, geocentric, heliocentric, stellar/scientific. The findings indicate significant differences among students adopting some combination of the four mental models. Most students adopted a combination of these models and used different conceptual frameworks for different astronomical phenomena. Students with a scientific engineering background tended to use the stellar/scientific model more often than Liberal Arts students. The stellar/scientific model is the most scientifically progressive of the four models tested and manages the most systematic astronomical conceptual frameworks. The study identified three variables: "physical background," "average academic grade" and "academic discipline" - which contribute to the adoption of the stellar/scientific model.

The Flipped Classroom in a Terminal College Mathematics Course for Liberal Arts Students

The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of flipping the classroom on final exam scores in a terminal general education college mathematics course for a diverse student population. We employed a quasiexperimental design. Seven instructors collectively taught 13 sections of each pedagogy (flipped/traditional). Six hundred thirty-two students participated. Common final exams were graded concurrently. Mixed-model analyses were performed. Students in flipped sections scored 5.1 percentage points higher on average than those in traditional sections (p = .02) when controlling for math SAT and financial aid status, an improvement of 7.8 points among Black students (p < .01) and 1.0 points among Whites (p = .67). The estimated average difference between White and Black students, conditional on covariates, was 5.2 percentage points in traditional sections (p < .01) and –1.6 in flipped sections (p = .39). The 6.8-point difference in achievement gap between pedagogies was statistically significant (p < .01). Flipping the classroom was associated with improved student performance, particularly among Black students.

대학 교양체육수업 교수자의 부상학생을 통한 수업안전에 대한반성적 사례연구

대학 교양체육수업 교수자의 부상학생을 통한 수업안전에 대한반성적 사례연구

Effects of Semi-Finished Products as a Scaffolding on University Liberal Art Students’ Learning of Multimedia Technology and Webpage Producing

This paper presents a study carried out at Beijing Normal University with the aim of investigating whether semi-finished products could affect liberal arts students’ mastery of knowledge, mastery of operational skills and ICT self-efficacy in multimedia creation. The literature has argued that obstacles in creating multimedia artifacts lead liberal arts students to have low ICT self-efficacy. Semi-finished products are used as a scaffolding to facilitate liberal arts students’ creation of multimedia artifacts, such as Flash animations and interactive web-pages. However, empirical research on the effects of such scaffolding is lacking. We conducted a quasi-experiment in which we compared an experimental class of 117 students majoring in History with a control class of 102 students majoring in Chinese Language and Literature who took a Multimedia Technology and Webpage Producing (MTWP) course. The experimental class (revising condition) used semi-finished products to develop animations and web-pages while the control class (creating condition) developed animations and web-pages from scratch. Data were collected through a Knowledge and Skill Test and a Scale on ICT self-efficacy. T-tests were used to compare outcomes of the two conditions. Results revealed that students’ mastery of knowledge in the revising condition was significantly higher than students in the creation condition, but there were no significant differences between the two conditions in terms of students’ mastery of operational skills. Results also showed that there were significant differences between the two conditions in terms of students’ ICT self-efficacy. Further analysis indicated that students’ ICT self-efficacy in the revising condition improved significantly from pre-test to post-test, while those in the creating condition declined, but it was not significant. Implications for ICT teaching in higher education were discussed.

Семантическая оценка смысловой динамики учебного пространства ВУЗа в процессе обучения критическому мышлению по модели свободных искусств и наук

The study is devoted to the analysis of the connotative dynamics of the concepts describing the educational space of university in students of Liberal Arts and Sciences degree programme who took a course in “Thinking and Writing”. The hypothesis tested was that there would be a dynamic trend towards greater differentiation and individualization of concepts "student", "learning" and "training group" in the experimental group as compared to the control sample. The participants (152 students, including 126 females and 26 males aged from 17 to 23, M = 17.91, SD = 0.79) evaluated these concepts using the Semantic Differential Scale before and after the course. It was found (p <0.10 ÷ 0.05) that in the experimental sample the connotations for "student" showed an increase in imagery and subjective evaluation component, and the concept "learning" was assessed as less hostile and more diverse. In turn, the connotative dynamics of the meanings for "training group" was similar to that of the control group. The obtained results are of primary interest in the context of shaping the students’ learning motivation and can be employed in comparative studies of the effects produced by conceptually different educational programs.

On the idea of true philosophy

Background : Discussions on the actual role and status of philosophy continuously arise, especially at the time of crises, abrupt changes to habitual ways of life and patterns of thought and behavior. Throughout the 20 th century philosophical thought, both in the West and in Russia, has undergone a number of major reconsiderations, with controversial outcomes. Philosophy was, in fact, transformed into ideology, i.e. a system of beliefs that ultimately serves the interests of the ruling elite and has a definite apologetic aim – to justify the existing social arrangements and foster the required unanimity of opinions in the society. Liberal arts students and anyone pursuing philosophical studies are taught that the true philosophy is philosophy of science, while philosophy per se does not deserve serious attention because such philosophy is a relic of the past. Objective : The article aims to reveal the causes of the decline of philosophy, to reclaim the status and meaning of true philosophy, and to forecast its perspective development in the modern world. To meet these objectives the authors make use of the analytical, historical, cultural, comparative and hermeneutical methods of research. Results : The article gives substantial evidence to the fact that the inability of modern philosophy to address urgent political, social, etc. issues in Russia is the result of its deliberate three-stage transformation into ideology throughout the 20 th century. It is demonstrated that the philosophy of culture is the modern way of philosophizing and the true philosophy of our time. The article highlights some unresolved issues connected with this approach: the essence of culture; the principles, laws and the purpose of cultural development; the correlation between culture and life. The article also argues that the ultimate goal of unraveling the meaning of modern philosophy is to go from the philosophy “about something” to the philosophy of the person generated by his/her independent thought. This kind of further development is only possible in the situation of academic freedom and the person’s independence in finding and absorbing knowledge. Conclusion : The contribution of this study to the contemporary philosophical discourse is threefold: firstly, it demonstrates that the role and status of modern philosophy are different from and surpass those of narrower fields of knowledge; secondly, it defines modern philosophy as the philosophy of culture; thirdly, it envisions the future of modern philosophy as the philosophy generated by the person capable of independent thinking. This study can be applied to interpreting and evaluating current and past social issues from a cultural and philosophical standpoint.

数理社会学ワンステップアップ講座 統計学・計量社会学をどう教えるか：

数理社会学ワンステップアップ講座 統計学・計量社会学をどう教えるか：

The new spirit of capitalism in European Liberal Arts programs

The following paper suggests a connection between recent developments in the justification of the capitalist system and contemporary European Liberal Arts programs. By looking at Luc Boltanski’s and Eve Chiapello’s study on The New Spirit Of Capitalism and Gilles Deleuze’s term of societies of control we highlight a pivot within Western societies towards flexibility, creativity and self-fulfillment as essential requirements on the job market. We then link this observation to European Liberal Arts programs and ask to what extent the Liberal Arts’ self-understanding, as it appears at European universities, conforms to this new capitalist imperative. Furthermore, we examine how we experienced these claims during our time as Liberal Arts students.

私立文系大学生を対象とした生態学教育 : 生態学を暮らしにつなげる試み( 「アウェイ」の生態学)

私立文系大学生を対象とした生態学教育 : 生態学を暮らしにつなげる試み( 「アウェイ」の生態学)

Mechanics for Liberal Arts Students

From my quarter-century experience of educating liberal arts students of Keio University in Japan, who are generally not good at mathematics, I believe that mechanics is a very effective subject for them to learn scientific approaches through observations and experiments on mechanical phenomena: they develop a study skill of how to find a problem, form a hypothesis for the solution, validate it, and finally solve the problem. This is because many phenomena in mechanics are comparatively simple but attractive, ubiquitous, easily observable, sometimes intuitively understandable and sometimes mysterious.

Maiko Odaira, The Ideal of Cultured Women: A Historical Study of Intellectual Life for Female Students of Liberal Arts

Maiko Odaira, <i>The Ideal of Cultured Women: A Historical Study of Intellectual Life for Female Students of Liberal Arts</i>

Using inquiry based simulations in the honors science laboratory

The project known as PhET, originally stood for Physics Education Technology, but was quickly expanded into the other natural sciences. It is a project which, with a grant from the NSF and other sponsors, now provides free inquiry- based simulations in the natural sciences and mathematics. The project was founded by Nobel Prize winner Carl Wieman. The simulations are highly interactive, easy to use, and based on the latest educational research. The GMU Honors College teaches several science courses geared to high achieving liberal arts students. The courses cover a wide range of topics that include astrobiology, energy/environmental issues, and scientific thought and processes. Despite their high ability and motivation, these students often report a reluctance to engage in scientific inquiry. PhET simulations were used as laboratory experiments to teach basic concepts in physics and chemistry. Students display high engagement and interest utilizing PhET simulations. Students also were able to demonstrate creativity in problem solving, and a reduced fear of making mistakes. The PhET computer simulations allowed students to quickly identify cause and effect relationships between simulation inputs and outputs.

Teaching Inquiry With a Lens Toward Curiosity

This paper links educational psychology research about curiosity to teacher moves that are effective in an inquiry-based mathematics classroom. Three vignettes will show explicit teacher moves (staging disagreement, intriguing anecdotes, and creating a safe space) for different audiences (math majors, mathematics for liberal arts students, and future elementary school teachers) and tie them to particular studies about curiosity. The goal is to deepen our thinking about inquiry-based teaching by considering curiosity as one of the starting points of inquiry. Educational psychologists have found ample evidence that curiosity improves learning. We claim that curiosity and inquiry are deeply connected in a curiosity–inquiry cycle and become most active in a classroom that exhibits a culture of asking questions.

Journalists, Numeracy and Cultural Capital

Journalists are tasked with holding power to account; often, that means evaluating and interpreting numbers. But anecdotally, journalists are ill at ease with figures. This shortcoming is worrying both in terms of the quality of news provided to the public, and the implications for informed democratic debate. This paper tests the assertion that journalism as a profession is numeracy-challenged through a small-scale study of the numeracy capabilities of journalism students. Some oft-cited reasons for these shortcomings are discussed, including the pressures of deadlines and the tyranny of the 24-hour news cycle, where the mantra of “never wrong for long” appears to justify a casual approach to getting numbers right. Then, drawing on the work of Pierre Bourdieu and his notion of “cultural capital,” the under-appreciated role played by symbolic culture in journalists’ attitude to figures is highlighted. Symbolic culture determines what is valued by a group or sub-group of people (such as journalists), and what it is acceptable to denigrate (“I’m no good at math!” spoken as a boast). Journalism culture, it is argued, is opposed to numeracy. Finally, it is argued that in addition to the worthwhile efforts to improve numeracy skills among journalists, the culture of journalism itself needs to be transformed. The novel suggestion is made that science and math students should be encouraged to enter the profession, which has traditionally been dominated by liberal arts students.