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Many teachers report using behavioral management charts in their classrooms as a means of managing student behaviors, but little is known about exactly what behaviors teachers are charting, or specifically how. Misunderstanding over how real-world teachers maintain behavioral charts may cause miscommunication between the teacher and the school psychologist. This study sought to determine how teachers collect and track behavioral data. Researchers examined behavioral charts used by teachers in a Title I elementary school that reported using Positive Behavioral Intervention Supports (PBIS). Researchers evaluated charts for ten classrooms (~150 students) and compared the type of data collected by each teacher for each child. Findings indicated that teachers either used no system, their own systems, or a computer-based system (Class Dojo) for charting behavior. An analysis of each of these systems found that Class Dojo provided significantly more data (positive and negative notations) in general, as well as more reliable data than any other system reviewed. Discussions of these findings within a PBIS framework, as well as general concerns about the computer-based system, are provided.

Purpose: This study aims to describe and evaluate various visual and creative tools for supporting the in-depth biographical interview aimed at analyzing educational communities and their stakeholders. Design/methodology/approach: Researching educational spaces today requires new ways of understanding, analyzing and studying. The complex characteristics, functions and realities demand research that responds to educational singularities. It is a matter of deeply understanding the educational phenomenon's peculiarities. For these purposes, instruments and research paradigms are needed to extract data and reach information saturation regarding the data obtained from the proposed objects of study. With this in mind, the following paper suggests reflecting on data collection tools that can complement the interview and biographical-narrative research approach. The authors highlight the use of photo-elucidation, the biogram-based timeline, the organigram and the flight of the geese, all of which are instruments endowed with a visual character that allows a deeper understanding of the object studied. Findings: The main contribution of this paper is to unpack the uses and applications of four visual tools that support the interview technique. First, photo-elucidation is presented as a sensory strategy to stimulate the narrative during the dialogical exchange of the interview. Next, the timeline is described as a visual concretization of the traditional biogram widely used in educational research. Next, the authors unravel the uses of the organizational chart in educational research, which, due to its nature and utility, provides a glimpse of the organizational functioning of an institution and is particularly suitable for research in institutional frameworks. Finally, the tool known as the flight of the geese is presented. This tool is recommended for use in educational leadership and teamwork studies due to its simplicity and high representativeness of the hierarchy of roles and functions. Originality/value: Researching educational spaces today requires new ways of understanding, analyzing and studying. The complex characteristics, functions, and realities demand research that responds to educational singularities. It is a matter of deeply understanding the educational phenomenon's peculiarities. For these purposes, instruments and research paradigms are needed to extract data and reach information saturation regarding the data obtained from the proposed objects of study. With this in mind, the following paper invites us to reflect on data collection tools that can complement the interview and biographical-narrative research approach. The authors highlight the use of photo-elucidation, the biogram-based timeline, the organigram, and the flight of the geese, all of which are instruments endowed with a visual character that allows a deeper understanding of the object studied.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to provide a scientometric and content analysis of the studies in the field of e-learning that were published in five Social Science Citation Index (SSCI) journals ("Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, Computers & Education, British Journal of Educational Technology, Innovations in Education and Teaching International and Educational Technology Research and Development") and two conferences (Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia & Telecommunications and IEEE International Conference on Advanced Learning Technologies) from 2003 to 2008 to realize hidden research trends using an internally built visualization tool. Design/methodology/approach: The 7,759 original papers gathered from five journals and two conferences were further classified in 14 main research areas based on 150 concepts clusters. The internally built visualization tool, which is primarily based on animated bubble chart and pie chart, facilitated the task of analyzing the trends of contributions in the field over the years. Findings: Different research areas that are evolving or diminishing across the globe, most discussed research areas, most prolific researchers, leading institutions and nations. In addition to that these trends have also been analyzed across journals and conferences. Originality/value: The results in this study will allow novice and experienced educators, researchers, policy makers in the field of e-learning to study what kind of different research areas exist and to identify different research trends over the last six years. (Contains 3 tables and 6 figures.)

Graphic facilitation is a growing international practice and is often used to describe what professionals do when visually facilitating group processes. Although the professional arena has grown, there is a lack of empirical research in the field, especially regarding long-term perspectives on applying the practice in organisations. This paper aims at investigating employees' experiences and competence development over time within graphic facilitation. The study followed three employees, first in a 2-day basic graphic facilitation course, then in follow-up interviews, eight months, and two years after completing the course. The empirical data were analysed based on a literature review conducted on long-term perspectives, focusing on three themes: 1. The graphic facilitation practice at individual, group, and organisational level; 2. Contextual knowledge and knowing about the participants; 3. Relation between objects, processes and competencies needed. The findings show that all three employees from different organisations continued to use graphic facilitation and found it valuable for giving new insights and overviews of processes and tasks. The methods aided in creating common ground and goals. The employees activated their contextual organisational knowledge to aid the process and found that being sensitive to various groups' needs and personal preferences were effective when applying the methods.

This paper investigates the effectiveness of the morphological chart method in design divergence. The literature presents the morphological chart as an engineering design method that does not particularly aim novelty, but instead gathers possible means for fulfilling the independently decomposed sub-functions of a product. On the other hand, implementations of this method in design education has shown that this method offers the possibility of design exploration for groups of interrelated sub-functions. Accordingly, this widens the solution space and encourages designers to think on the consequences of their design decisions while generating ideas, hence allowing situated design divergence to take place. The paper presents the findings of a review carried out on twelve morphological charts completed in groups, containing a total of 686 sub-solution sketches made for a pool of 21 sub-functions. The charts were reviewed as a whole in terms of group performance in idea generation for a decomposed design problem. Then the sub-solution ideas were grouped according to sub-functions and were reviewed in terms of idea content. It was seen that a background preparation with product trials, 3D exploration of product configuration, and experience in using the morphological chart method, affected the number of cells that the participants completed. Besides, several factors were found to influence the ways in which participants filled in the morphological charts. The reviews revealed eleven factors affecting design divergence using the morphological chart method, grouping under the headings of: preparations, group dynamics, boundaries of sub-functions, and interrelations of product components. In addition, thirteen strategies were identified that participants followed for idea generation using the morphological chart method, grouping under the headings of: beginning idea generation, ensuring effective idea generation, exploring ideas, diversifying ideas and representing ideas.

This paper represents a continuation of the theoretical and computational work from an earlier publication, with the present calculations using exactly the same physical values for the lengths L (0.435 m - 2.130 m) for the conical pendulum, mass m = 0.1111 kg, and with the local value of the acceleration due to gravity g = 9.789 ms[superscript -2]. Equations for the following principal physical parameters were derived and calculated: period T, angular frequency w, orbital radius R, apex angle ø, tension force F[subscript T] and centripetal force F[subscript C] (additional functions were calculated when required). Calculations were performed over a wide range of values of the apex angle (0° = ø = 85°), corresponding to a calculated tension force F[subscript T] range of approximately (mg = F[subscript T] = 12 N) or alternatively (mg = F[subscript T] = 11 mg) for the string. A technique is demonstrated to determine an accurate value of an unknown pendulum mass, by using a graphical analysis. Intercepts and asymptotic lines with respect to both the horizontal and vertical axes are described and fully explained. The main emphasis for this paper is to present highly detailed graphical charts for the calculated theoretical functions and appropriate physical parameters. Theoretical analysis is presented in comprehensive detail, showing full mathematical derivations and alternative equations when this approach is considered to be advantageous for both understanding and computational presentation. [To view Part 1, "Conical Pendulum--Linearization Analyses," see EJ1174583.]

This paper reports the statistical and probabilistic reasoning of young children in terms of randomness, variability, and data representations in the context of informal inferential reasoning (IIR). Using the IIR approach, a task was designed and conducted one-on-one with 28 children aged 5 to 6 years old, in a case study setting. The researcher used a voice recorder during interviews, took photos, and recorded field notes. The data were analyzed according to the principles of informal inferential reasoning, which are generalizing beyond the data, using data as evidence for generalizing, and using probabilistic language to acknowledge the uncertainty embedded in the data. The findings indicate that young children are capable of making informal inferences from a sample space, describing event probability, and constructing bar graph and pie chart data representations.

The analysis, calculations and graphical charts presented here in this paper are based directly on a recently published paper by the first two of the above-named authors. In the present paper, it is clearly demonstrated that all of the following nine (or eleven including the centripetal acceleration and total mechanical energy) principal physical parameters can be calculated directly by using only the rotational period of a conical pendulum, assuming that the pendulum mass, string length and local gravitational acceleration are known precisely: string tension force, centripetal force (yielding the centripetal acceleration by simple direct calculation), orbital radius, orbital speed, apex angle, rotational moment, magnitude of the angular momentum, potential energy, kinetic energy and consequently the total mechanical energy. All of these physical parameters were calculated for a range of pendulum lengths 0.400 = L = 2.00 m (in nine equal interval steps of 0.200 m) and are illustrated with appropriate charts showing how these physical parameters vary as a function of the orbital period. The limiting values of the parameters as the multiple chart lines approach the horizontal and vertical exes (where this is appropriate) are explained in detail, along with any specifically interesting observations that can also be made, for example, axis intercept gradients and any points of curve inflexion (which are readily explained and calculated using calculus). For the three situations in which inflexions have been demonstrated, appropriate (and very simple) equations for the locus of points have been determined.

Purpose: The aim of this paper is to study the use of FIS Response Analysis for Critical Thinking Assessment (FRACTA) method to assess critical thinking in STEM problem solving. The use of FIS (facts, ideas and solutions) chart as a tool to elicit student critical thinking responses and the method of scoring the responses are investigated. Method: FRACTA was tested on students from different STEM disciplines. Four groups of students were used, with an average of 20 students in each group. One group was used for critical thinking in mathematics problem solving and similarly one group for physics, chemistry and biology respectively. Facilitators were assigned to the groups to administer the processes in the method. The appointed facilitators were briefed on the details of FRACTA procedures. This method uses three instruments to assess critical thinking: problem items, FIS chart and scoring form. A facilitator feed-back survey form was also used to obtain feed-back on the strengths and weaknesses of the method. Findings: The study showed that FRACTA has high credibility and potential with recommended amendments and improvements. Significance: This method is characterized by its formative nature as it helps in the development of critical thinking in students. FRACTA is also a versatile method as it can be adapted and used for students from intermediate to tertiary levels.

As physics educators, we are constantly looking for ways to improve our practice. There are many different kinds of professional development opportunities that have been shown to help us with this endeavor. We can seek assistance from professionals, like mentor teachers or centers for faculty development, we can attend workshops to learn new curricula or pedagogical skills, and we can engage in learning communities to develop shared visions and become more reflective educators. However, when these activities end, what can we do on our own to continue to improve? How can we track our improvement? And perhaps even most importantly, what can we do when these resources aren't available to us? While publications like "The Physics Teacher" offer excellent pedagogical practices we can try out in the classroom, how do we get feedback on what we decide to implement? One way to continue to improve our practice is to develop habits of Scholarly Teaching, a practice of gathering data from one's own class and analyzing it in the context of a question about teaching and learning, with the intention of improving teaching and learning outcomes. In this paper we describe a tool that gives an instructor access to data that describe how s/he spends time in the classroom. The Real-time Instructor Observing Tool (RIOT) is a free web application that allows the real-time classification of an instructor's actions during a classroom observation. Immediately following an observation, the RIOT auto-generates charts and graphs that give instructors timely feedback on their teaching. Because RIOT offers objective data for easy self-reflection, it can be a powerful resource for professional development and reflective practice. While the RIOT can and has been used to collect data for research purposes, the RIOT can also be used for informal instructor professional development outside of a research setting. In this paper we describe how university and high school science instructors can use the RIOT in pairs to collect information about their classroom practices in order to inform and foster reflection on their teaching.

Existing tools aim to detect university students with early diagnosis of dyslexia or reading difficulties, but there are not developed tools that let those students better understand some aspects of their difficulties. In this paper, a dashboard for visualizing and inspecting early detected reading difficulties and their characteristics, called PADA (acronym for the Spanish name "Panel de Analíticas de Aprendizaje de Dislexia en Adultos"), is presented. PADA is a web-based tool designed to facilitate the creation of descriptive visualizations required for a better understanding by students about their learner model. Through information visualization techniques, PADA shows students the knowledge in their learner models in order to help them to increase their awareness and to support reflection and self-regulation about their difficulties in reading. PADA provides different learning analytics on reading performance of students, so that they can self-identify their strengths and weaknesses and self-regulate their learning. This paper describes examples that cover a variety of visualizations (bar-charts, line-charts, and pie-charts) to show user model fragments as personal details, reading profiles, learning styles, and cognitive traits of the students. We tested PADA with 26 students (aged 21-53 years) of different academic programs and levels, dyslexic and non-dyslexic. The results show that PADA can assist students in creating awareness, and help them to understand their difficulties associated with the reading tasks, as well as facilitate reflection and self-regulation in the learning process. Implications for the design of learning analytics are discussed and directions for future work are outlined.

Basic color terms used in Mandarin Chinese have been controversial since first discussed by Berlin and Kay in 1969. Previous studies showed much inconsistency on what should be considered as basic color terms in Mandarin Chinese. In the present study, we investigated categories of color rather than merely the color terms used by Taiwanese native Mandarin speakers. Using samples conforming to the Berlin and Kay survey, various colors were chosen from a collection of Natural Color System (NCS) colored papers and mounted on a piece of neutral gray card. The card was then mounted on a touch-screen, under D65 illumination. Thirty-two single-character color related Mandarin terms were selected from a Chinese character database according to frequency of use. Participants were required to select the color sample that matched the term by pressing a virtual button on the touch screen. The results show that certain terms can be directly correlated to basic color terms in English, comparable with the results of Berlin and Kay’s original study and those that followed. However, some terms, such as Mo (墨 ink), Tie (鐵 iron), and Cai (菜vegetable), show a wide spread of term maps and inconsistent use among subjects. Principle component analysis (PCA) procedures were used to analysis the commodity of data among subjects. The findings suggest that the basic color categories among Mandarin Chinese speakers are similar to those found in the World Color Survey (WCS), but are represented by wide-spread and inconsistent color terms among speakers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper I discuss the possibilities for exploring the hundred chart kinesthetically with elementary preservice teachers using a life-size hundred chart--an innovative tool, homemade from a shower curtain--to build quantity sense. Preservice teachers explored creative approaches to teach mathematics using the life-size hundred chart and planned engaging movement activities for young students. I detail the activity prompts for students, sample lesson ideas from preservice teachers, and reflections from those who implemented the tool in their instruction. I provide additional suggestions for teacher educators to use this tool in building quantity sense with their students.

This paper describes the process employed by the Industrial and Management Systems Engineering programme at Kuwait University to continuously improve the programme. Using a continuous improvement framework, the paper demonstrates how various qualitative and quantitative analyses methods, such as hypothesis testing and control charts, have been applied to the results of four assessment tools and other data sources to improve performance. Important improvements include the need to reconsider two student outcomes as they were difficult to implement in courses. In addition, through benchmarking and the engagement of Alumni and Employers, key decisions were made to improve the curriculum and enhance employability.

Importance: The article raises a point of visual representation of big data, recently considered to be demanded for many scientific and real-life applications, and analyzes particulars for visualization of multi-dimensional data, giving examples of the visual analytics-related problems. Objectives: The purpose of this paper is to study application of Andrews plots to visualization of multidimensional data. Methods: Application of Andrews plots to multidimensional data visualization is investigated herein by means of analysis, logical generalization, scientific abstraction. Results: The direct interaction between the analyst and the visualization system projecting the multi-dimensional data into spaces with fewer dimensions, supporting formulation and testing of the hypotheses regarding the nature and the data structure have been researched. The article seems to be useful for working with multidimensional dataset to optimize the process.

This paper provides a description of a teaching approach that uses experiential learning to teach process improvement. The teaching approach uses student groups to perform and gather process data in a senior-level quality management class that focuses on Lean Six Sigma. A strategy to link the experiential learning in the group projects to the theory provided in class is detailed, specifically the ability to increase yields through centering the process and decreasing variation. The group deliverables linking experiential learning to theory are described and examples are provided. Also, assessment criteria for the group deliverables are suggested.