Understanding Of Basic Concepts Research Articles

Uncovering students' incorrect ideas about foundational concepts for biochemistry

This paper presents preliminary data on how an assessment instrument with a unique structure can be used to identify common incorrect ideas from prior coursework at the beginning of a biochemistry course, and to determine whether these ideas have changed by the end of the course. The twenty-one multiple-choice items address seven different concepts, with a parallel structure for distractors across each set of items to capture consistent incorrect responses. For the current study, the instrument was administered as a pre-test and post-test in majors level biochemistry courses, and the results from two different groups are presented. These results indicated that students performed better on the post-test, resulting in positive mean gain scores for each concept. The structure of the instrument allows data analysis that helped uncover persistent incorrect ideas for some of the concepts, including bond energy and protein alpha helix structure, even after a semester of instruction in biochemistry. The persistent incorrect idea for the protein alpha helix structure uncovered by this assessment has not been reported before in the literature. These results confirm the need to use a robust diagnostic instrument to assess students’ understanding of basic concepts at the beginning of the semester, but also stress the need to assess students near the end of the course to gain insight on the effectiveness of instruction. Since each group of students is different, biochemistry instructors are encouraged to use the instrument to identify problems with their own students’ incoming ideas rather than rely on published results to inform instruction. In addition to providing assistance for instructors of biochemistry in planning targeted instructional interventions, we anticipate that data collected from this instrument can also be used to identify potential modifications for prerequisite courses.

What do Students Want in an Electromagnetics Course? [The GOLD Report

Technology development in the field of wireless and RF systems has increased the need for a good understanding of basic concepts in the field of electromagnetics. Today, students want a more practically oriented approach to learning. The field of electromagnetics has become so broad that students seek a practical understanding of how to apply the theory they typically learn in a basic EM class. With the increase in tuition, students also expect to gain the utmost for the money they have spent. The author have summarized some of the things that students taking their first electromagnetics course want.

A stratified study of students’ understanding of basic optics concepts in different contexts using two‐tier multiple‐choice items

A large scale study involving 1786 year 7–10 Korean students from three school districts in Seoul was undertaken to evaluate their understanding of basic optics concepts using a two‐tier multiple‐choice diagnostic instrument consisting of four pairs of items, each of which evaluated the same concept in two different contexts. The instrument, which proved to be reliable, helped identify several context‐dependent alternative conceptions that were held by about 25% of students. At the same time, students’ performance on the diagnostic test correlated with the location of the schools, students’ achievement in school science and their attitudes to science learning. However, students’ grade levels had limited influence on their understanding of basic concepts in optics as measured by the instrument.

Review of the theoretical frameworks for the study of child development within public health and epidemiology

BackgroundCare for child development has gained international momentum in research and community-based programming. It encompasses various domains including cognitive, psychomotor, emotional, behavioural and social development, and a multitude of factors...

Development and Use of a Conceptual Survey in Introductory Quantum Physics

Conceptual surveys have become increasingly popular at many levels to probe various aspects of science education research such as measuring student understanding of basic concepts and assessing the effectiveness of pedagogical material. The aim of this study was to construct a valid and reliable multiple‐choice conceptual survey to investigate students’ understanding of introductory quantum physics concepts. We examined course syllabi to establish content coverage, consulted with experts to extract fundamental content areas, and trialled open‐ended questions to determine how the selected content areas align with students’ difficulties. The questions were generated and trialled with different groups of students. Each version of the survey was critiqued by a group of discipline and teaching experts to establish its validity. The survey was administered to 312 students at the University of Sydney. Using the data from this sample, we performed five statistical tests (item difficulty index, item discrimination index, item point biserial coefficient, KR‐21 reliability test, and Ferguson’s delta) to evaluate the test’s reliability and discriminatory power. The result indicates that our survey is a reliable test. This study also provided data from which preliminary findings were drawn on students’ understandings of introductory quantum physics concepts. The main point is that questions which require an understanding of the standard interpretations of quantum physics are more challenging for students than those grouped as non‐interpretative. The division of conceptual questions into interpretive and non‐interpretive needs further exploration.

Experimental evaluation of the operating temperature impact on solid oxide anode-supported fuel cells

Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) seem to be a promising technology for the energy generation of tomorrow. Such devices are very complex and performances are strictly dependent on the understanding of basic concepts and development of new materials. The actual demonstrated target of SOFCs is around 1W/cm2 of power density at the operating temperature of 750°C and practical fuel utilization (>50%); the goal for the next years is to reach 2W/cm2 at 650°C of power density. The achievement of this goal depends mainly on the investigation of high-performance materials and on the developing of diagnostic and analytical techniques to deeply understand the cells’ behaviour; moreover, the improvement of performance is strictly related to the manufacturing processes. In this paper is shown a study dealing with a comparison of two planar anode-supported SOFCs differing for cathode materials. In fact it is known that cathode overvoltage is a limiting factor for such cells’ design. Tests were performed on SOFCs of anode-supported design at L.A.Q. IN.TE.S.E. In the paper, results are presented concerning the characterization of planar circular-shaped cells from InDEC® with lanthanum strontium manganite (LSM) and lanthanum strontium cobalt ferrite oxide (LSCF) cathodes. It is shown that cell performance can be increased via material selection; in fact, the power density of around 0.8W/cm2 is reached at 850°C for the cell with LSM cathode and at 750°C for the cell with LSCF cathode.

Teamwork: a concept analysis

This paper is a report of an analysis of the concept of teamwork. Teamwork is seen as an important facilitator in delivering quality healthcare services internationally. However, research studies of teamwork in health care are criticized for lacking a basic conceptual understanding of what this concept represents. A universal definition for healthcare settings and professionals is missing from published literature. Walker and Avant's approach was used to guide this concept analysis. Literature searches used bibliographic databases (Medline, CINAHL, Web of Science, Proquest CSA), internet search engines (GoogleScholar), and hand searches. Literature published between 1976 and 2006 was reviewed but only material in English was included. Based on the analysis undertaken, teamwork is proposed as a dynamic process involving two or more healthcare professionals with complementary backgrounds and skills, sharing common health goals and exercising concerted physical and mental effort in assessing, planning, or evaluating patient care. This is accomplished through interdependent collaboration, open communication and shared decision-making, and generates value-added patient, organizational and staff outcomes. Praising the value of teamwork without a common understanding of what this concept represents endangers both research into this way of working and its effective utilization in practice. The proposed definition helps reconcile discrepancies between how this concept is understood by nurses and doctors, as well as allied health professionals. A common understanding can facilitate communication in educational, research and clinical settings and is imperative for improving clarity and validity of future research.

The Americans with Disabilities Act in The Classroom: Key Concepts

INTRODUCTION It’s been almost 18 years since the American with Disabilities Act (known as the “ADA”) became law. Most people in the workplace are very familiar with its concepts, if not always its details. In the educational setting, the ADA has become much more familiar over the years and many students know that it applies in the classroom as well as in the workplace. So what is essential to know for those who train the professionals of tomorrow? This article will explore the key concepts of the ADA and how to analyze and apply them in an educational institution. The ADA requires that a “qualified individual” with a “disability” (defined as a “substantial impairment of a major life activity”) who is otherwise able to perform the “essential functions” of a student (or a job), must receive “reasonable accommodations” to assist him or her, unless such accommodations would pose an “undue hardship” to the employer or the institution. In an educational context, this means accommodations are required unless the proposed accommodations would fundamentally alter the educational experience. Several years ago, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (which handles all employment disability claims before a trip to court is permitted) released data showing that the most commonly claimed disability was low back pain. But as the courts have “matured” in interpreting the ADA, it’s become clear that it had now better be a significant pain in the back to support a finding of disability. However, many ailments do qualify by their very nature, including diabetes, cancer, severe depression, epilepsy, and paralysis. Even a history of a disability or a perception of a disability can support an ADA claim. In the educational context, learning disabilities have proved to be a substantial subset of student ADA complaints. Some of these are attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, processing deficits, dyslexia, sequencing disorders, visual perception disorders, and gross and fine motor skill impairments. Although some faculty members may resist recognizing learning disabilities as “real” disabilities, they can be substantial obstacles to success in the classroom or training site. Courts have recognized them as covered by the ADA. Now, here’s a test situation: Ashley Adams is a student in your class. After doing well on the first test, she pulls a “D” on the second one, and lately seems to have difficulty understanding basic concepts as evidenced by her participation in class discussions. One Friday, she asks to see you after class and confides that she has a learning disability and needs accommodations. She proceeds to tick them off:

The effects of students' cognitive styles on conceptual understandings and problem‐solving skills in introductory mechanics

The purpose of this study was to determine if there are relationship among freshmen students' Field depended or field independent (FD/FI) cognitive style, conceptual understandings, and problem solving skills in mechanics. The sample consisted of 213 freshmen (female = 111, male = 102; age range 17–21) who were enrolled in an introductory physics course required for science education prospective teachers. Data collection was done during the fall semesters in three successive years. At the beginning of each semester the Force Concept Inventory (FCI) and the Group Embedded Figure Test (GEFT) were administered to assess students' initial understanding of basic concepts in mechanics and FD/FI tendency of students, respectively. After completion of the course, the FCI and the Mechanics Base Line Test (MBT) were administered. The results indicated that students conceptual understanding were not statistically related to their FD/FI cognitive styles for both pre and post results. However, their problem‐solving skills were statistically related to their FD/FI cognitive style. The findings of the present and previous studies are compared, and the possible effects of the present studies on previous studies on teaching, learning and assessment for introductory mechanics are discussed.

Rapid, transient expression of fluorescent fusion proteins in tobacco plants and generation of stably transformed plants

Expression and tracking of fluorescent fusion proteins has revolutionized our understanding of basic concepts in cell biology. The protocol presented here has underpinned much of the in vivo results highlighting the dynamic nature of the plant secretory pathway. Transient transformation of tobacco leaf epidermal cells is a relatively fast technique to assess expression of genes of interest. These cells can be used to generate stable plant lines using a more time-consuming, cell culture technique. Transient expression takes from 2 to 4 days whereas stable lines are generated after approximately 2 to 4 months.

Analysis of molecular genetics content in Spanish secondary school textbooks

The treatment of molecular biology in thirty-four Spanish high school biology textbooks has been analysed using a check-list made up of twenty-three items. The study showed a tendency to confuse the genetic code with genetic information. The treatment of DNA transcription, regulation of gene expression and translation were presented as masses of factual information without necessarily facilitating the acquisition of an understanding of the main concepts. The biological meaning of terms such as ‘translation’, ‘codified proteins’ or ‘regulation of gene expression’ were particularly unclear and poorly related to awider understanding of cell biology. In conclusion, our data showed the need to improve text books by placing a greater emphasis on the understanding of basic concepts, rather than concentrating on factual detail, and by placing molecular biology in a broader context of cell and whole-organism biology.

Aspects of a Theory of Music Therapy

A theory of music therapy ought to take its departure from an understanding of the nature and role of music. The role of music in therapy is not necessarily different from the role of music in the life of man in general. It is, however, through their translation of their practical work into a language of theory, that music therapists often seem to professionalize their field to the extent that the role of music in therapy appears remote from our daily uses of music. This short presentation attempts to summarize some basic problems in translating the practice of music therapy into a coherent theory. Such a project makes it necessary to clarify our relation to theories within the philosophy of science in order to get a clear understanding of basic concepts in our field such as “sickness”, “therapy”, and “music”. In defining these concepts we will have to consider man as a biological, personal, and social being. Some conclusive paradigms are presented which suggest the role of music in therapy – as in life – to be promoting “initiative”, “expression”, and “clarification.”

Business in the media: a pedagogical approach to understanding basic business concepts

This paper describes an unusual course offered recently at a regional university in the Southern US. The course discussed in this paper was different for a number of reasons; these include the fact that the course was team-taught (a new concept in this institution, although not new to more established universities), the course dealt with the psychology of perceptions (specifically how business is perceived through popular media), and the format of the course used a variety of media (predominantly film, but also software, television and popular fiction) to investigate how perceptions are created and manipulated and the justifications for these manipulations. This paper discusses the development of the course, the selection of the various media used to present the course, and concludes with the student responses to the course.

One Point of View: The Missing Ingredients In Corporate Innovation

Venture capitalist Howard Anderson recently decried the failure of large companies to capitalize on their inventions (Technology Review, May, 2004, pp. 56-59). Causes? Slowness, timidity and incentive problems. Big just can't get it right. Only entrepreneurs really attack markets, changing the world while big companies defend positions with outdated products. So says Anderson. Yet who are those entrepreneurs? Typically, they are people who left (or were ejected from) large companies. OK, for a moment in the late '90s, universities couldn't keep students from diving into entrepreneuring. Still, most high-tech entrepreneurs are people with corporate experience. The issue isn't company size. The problem is not with big alone and has not been solved by small companies. The problem is both bigger and more insidious. Lack of Vision Companies large and small lack both a vision of innovation (the sum of invention plus commercialization) for the company and an innovation vision for every product. The problem isn't lack of invention, but perceiving invention as the goal. And it isn't lack of commercialization, but seeing commercialization as tasks to do. Anderson names the overall problem execution, yet that focuses on skills. If we understood innovation, we would adjust our skills. Sit in on a typical big-company project review. Most management expects and most staff knows no better than to focus on the project-technology, staffing, resources, processes, etc. Where is value to the customer? Missing, right down to basic conceptual understanding of value. Likewise, sit in on a typical entrepreneur's plan review. You will find detail on technology, team credentials and financials, plus a half-page afterthought marketing plan. Where are the specific needs to meet? Preferences to design in? Value to deliver? Not just missing-not even conceived! Clearly I overstate. Counter-examples include P&G, Gore, EBay, and Google. Still, companies big and small invent just fine. Their problem is innovation . . . Reduction of an idea to in use, for the first time anywhere, that creates compelling value for customers. (For product in use also read business in service, process in application, and more.) We're Trained That Way Why this narrow-mindedness? Because we are trained that way. Engineering schools teach engineering, not finance, distribution or marketing. They graduate narrowly-focused experts. Business schools teach business, not science, engineering or manufacturing. They graduate narrowly-focused experts. Each is taught that theirs is the true core expertise needed by the world. Neither is taught respect for the other. Then companies hire engineers to do engineering and marketers to do marketing. Not to serve customers with new products, not to create wealth for the company, but to engineer particular products (on one side) and to launch and sell products (on the other side). Worse, engineers are never taught strategy, and school graduates get at most one course. So we wind up with tactical experts with no inclination to see the big picture. And no expertise to create the big picture if they were so inclined. For the same reason, we wind up with managers, not leaders-with people who often see strategy as an esoteric waste that diverts resources from the real job. The Tactical Culture So knows how to run, but not how to win races. We have a tactical culture of invention and a tactical culture of marketing, but not a strategic culture of innovation. We manage discrete functions instead of leading integrated systems. A few years ago, I integrated two research studies into a book, Technology and the Agents of Change (Market Engineering Press, 1999). …

Illustrating Electric Circuit Concepts with the Glitter Circuit

Many beginning physics students have a harder time understanding basic concepts of electric circuits than understanding basic mechanics concepts. This is likely due to the fact that we cannot see electric charge carriers (electrons) move through an electric wire. It is thus the responsibility of the physics instructor to introduce his/her students to a variety of electric circuit models that will enable those students encountering circuits for the first time to come up with their own coherent mental picture of current flow in an electric circuit. Electric circuit analogs might prove helpful in this endeavor.

Economics of clinical nephrology practice

Economics of clinical nephrology practice

Science Trainee Teachers' Pedagogical Content Knowledge and its Influence on Physics Teaching

This study examined Malaysian science teachers' pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) of selected physics concepts. The two components of PCK investigated were (i) knowledge of students' understanding, conceptions and misconceptions of topics, and (ii) knowledge of strategies and representations for teaching particular topics. The participants were 12 trainee teachers from various academic science backgrounds attending a one-year postgraduate teacher-training course. They were interviewed on selected basic concepts in physics that are found in the Malaysian Integrated Science curriculum for lower secondary level. The findings showed that trainee teachers' PCK for promoting conceptual understanding is limited. They lacked the ability to transform their understanding of basic concepts in physics required to teach lower secondary school science pupils. The trainees' level of content knowledge affected their awareness of pupils' likely misconceptions. Consequently, the trainees were unable to employ the appropriate teaching strategies required to explain the scientific ideas. This study provides some pedagogical implications for the training of science teachers.

An Inventory for Alternate Conceptions among First-Semester General Chemistry Students

This manuscript (i) presents the Chemical Concepts Inventory (CCI), an inventory that faculty can use to judge for themselves the extent of several common alternate conceptions among their students; (ii) demonstrates that students come to general chemistry with a variety of the alternate conceptions described in the chemical and science education research literature; and (iii) shows that a traditional general chemistry course results in only modest improvements in understanding of basic concepts. The incorrect concepts include inappropriate ideas about atoms and molecules, microscopic behavior, heat and temperature, chemical formulas, gases, and other qualitative concepts—concepts that form the foundation of several topics of first-semester college chemistry.The inventory is a multiple choice instrument composed of one- and two-tiered nonmathematical questions based on alternate conceptions reported in the science education literature. Administration of the inventory before the first semester of a two-semester general chemistry course for science and engineering majors confirmed that students hold many alternate conceptions in diverse areas of chemistry prior to the course. An administration of the inventory at the beginning of the second semester indicated that these students retained many of their alternate conceptions through a semester of instruction.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging: Principles, Methods, and Techniques

This is a visually stimulating book. Like Dr Sprawl’s other books, Magnetic Resonance Imaging is full of great illustrations that convey a tremendous amount of information in manageable form. However, this book takes the concept of great illustrations one step further by using a device called a “mind map.” The concept of “mind mapping” has been a hot topic in educational circles in recent years (Buzan T, Buzan B. The mind map book. New York, NY: Dutton, 1996; Margulies N. Mapping inner space learning. Tucson, Ariz: Zephyr, 1991). It is based on the idea that most humans have far better pictorial memory than textual memory. Also, most of us feel more confident in our knowledge if we can construct relationships between ideas. A mind map is a diagram that shows these relationships. In this book, mind maps appear at the end of each chapter. Clever use of recurring icons is made in these maps to represent concepts like precession and radio-frequency signals. This device aids readers in transferring knowledge from one context to another as they work their way through multistep processes such as image acquisition. Many educators believe that the understanding of basic concepts should be emphasized before equations are shown. This book is an impressive attempt to solidify basic concepts without using equations. For example, no Larmor equation is given. Instead, a table of “Larmor frequencies” in a magnetic field strength of 1 T is given. There are no equations for exponential decay of the magnetic resonance (MR) signal, no footnotes, no references, and no problems to solve at the ends of the chapters. This is a concise, uninterrupted, nonmathematical, textual explanation with lots of “ah ha! I get it now” illustrations knitted together by mind maps. Given the format, it is amazing how many advanced concepts this book covers. The topics include diffusionweighted imaging, MR angiography, and half Fourier imaging, in addition to the basics of precession, chemical shift, and two-dimensional Fourier transform image reconstruction. There should be no disagreement with the statement that this book is definitely for those who do not need to acquire an in-depth technical or mathematical knowledge of MR imaging. It is certainly appropriate as a general introduction for technologists. However, I suggest that it is also suitable as a first step for those who will eventually need more technical knowledge (eg, radiology residents). I will definitely lend my copy to residents who are struggling with concepts such as k space and two-dimensional Fourier transform, for example. In any case, those who teach MR principles at any level will find the illustrations in this book to be great source material for lectures. In summary, I think that this book will be helpful to many students at many levels. Some instructors who have not been involved with undergraduate education for a long time may be put off by the lack of “traditional textbook” structure. To them, I recommend going to a university bookstore and looking up introductory texts for the sciences. Textbooks have changed over the decades, and the people we are teaching at the present time learned basic science from books that are structured more like this one than the traditional textbooks from which we learned years ago. To be sure, physics and engineering courses for science majors use texts (and notes, software, and Web sites) with as many equations as ever. No one starts out learning about science and engineering at the graduate level. This book helps with that big first step.

Psychotherapy and chaos theory: The metaphoric relationship between psychodynamic therapy and chaos theory.

This article explores potential benefits and problems in applying chaos theory in psychotherapy through an examination of previous attempts to integrate chaos theory into psychoanalysis and psychodynamic therapy. First a discussion provides an understanding of basic concepts in chaos theory and reviews applications in psychoanalysis. Second, problems in such applications are scrutinized. Finally, the discussion speculates on a general tendency in the literature in psychotherapy and counseling to resort to mathematical analogies, arguing that this attraction may produce an erroneous metaphor, and gives reasons both for the attraction and its danger.