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Sammanfattning Syftet med denna uppsats är att undersöka hur inlärningsstrategier används av sfi-elever och huruvida strategierna skiljer sig åt mellan grupper med olika studiebakgrund. Data samlades in med en kvantitativ enkät som syftade till att elever på sfi gav deras syn på olika påståenden kring sin egen inlärning och hur troligt det är att de skulle använda sig av vissa strategier. Eleverna fick även ange vilken studieväg de har gått på sfi. Resultatet visar att det är skillnad på hur elever upplever att de använder inlärningsstrategier och att det går att koppla till tidigare studiebakgrund. Resultatet visar att det finns tydliga tendenser på att elever blir mer medvetna om sina inlärningsstrategier med längre studiebakgrund och använder sig av fler strategier.

The purpose of this study was to investigate how computational modeling promotes systems thinking for English Learners (ELs) in fifth-grade science instruction. Individual student interviews were conducted with nine ELs about computational models of landfill bottle systems they had developed as part of a physical science unit. We found evidence of student engagement in four systems thinking practices. Students used data produced by their models to investigate the landfill bottle system as a whole (Practice 1). Students identified agents and their relationships in the system (Practice 2). Students thought in levels, shuttling between the agent and aggregate levels (Practice 3). However, while students could think in levels to develop their models, they struggled to engage in this practice when presented with novel scenarios (e.g., open vs. closed system). Finally, students communicated information about the system using multiple modalities and less-than-perfect English (Practice 4). Overall, these findings suggest that integrating computational modeling into standards-aligned science instruction can provide a rich context for fostering systems thinking among linguistically diverse elementary students., National Science Foundation (Grant DRL-1742138)

Violence is pervasive. So, now, are cell phones. This study investigates the possible relation between the two. Social scientists have long argued that new technologies, such as cell phones, can make it easier for people to coordinate their activities. So cell phones may make conflicts worse by making it easier for people to fight. I use country-level data on cell phones and compare that with data on deaths from within-country conflicts. Specifically, I focus on the time periods when cell phones became prevalent in each country and test whether the this change in communication technology was associated with more or less people dying. I present the results from several comparisons. The findings are mixed: there are some countries where increases in violence happened at the same time that cell phones were becoming popular, but also others where there was no pattern or even a negative relationship. I discuss the limitations of the data and some of the things that I learned and that other scholars could build on to better understand the connections between technology and violence.

This study investigates the web of complexities that is Brazil’s development in the modern world. In 2003, one-fifth of the population was between the ages of 15 and 24, which emphasizes the incredible gravity that each decision may have for Brazil’s near future. Though a country plagued by economic mis-governance and misfortune, it is also teeming with large tracts of arable land, a burgeoning agribusiness sector capable of interceding in international crises, and a store of underutilized assets waiting to be capitalized upon through international diplomacy. Brazil can be a strong global power in regional affairs, carrying the weight of a world power, but only through development. The road to development through economic success is paved with the good intentions of many a developing economy mired in corruption and dependency, and in order for Brazil to be different it must achieve three main objectives. Greater domestic equality, increased global participation, and sustainable governance that bolsters the spirit of the country instead of squandering it.

This thesis has succeeded in the implementation of N-heterocyclic imino ligands into several novel low-valent silicon compounds with unique electronic and structural features that were utilized to demonstrate prior unprecedented reactivities in the activation of small molecules, such as dihydrogen, ammonia or carbon dioxide. Additionally, with the first reported examples of room temperature stable, three-coordinate and neutral acyclic silanones, the eagerly-awaited dream of isolable silicon analogues of ketones was fulfilled., Im Rahmen dieser Arbeit ist es gelungen, N-heterocyclische Imino-Liganden in mehrere neuartige niedervalente Siliciumverbindungen mit einzigartigen elektronischen und strukturellen Eigenschaften zu integrieren und diese einzusetzen, um bislang unbekannte Reaktivitäten in der Aktivierung kleiner Moleküle wie Wasserstoff, Ammoniak oder Kohlenstoffdioxid zu ermöglichen. Mit den ersten bekannten Beispielen für raumtemperaturstabile, dreifach-koordinierte und neutrale acyclische Silanone konnte zudem der lang ersehnte Traum von isolierbaren Silicium-Analoga von Ketonen verwirklicht werden.

We present a curriculum and instruction framework for computer-supported teaching and learning about complex systems in high school science classrooms. This work responds to a need in K-12 science education research and practice for the articulation of design features for classroom instruction that can address the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) recently launched in the USA. We outline the features of the framework, including curricular relevance, cognitively rich pedagogies, computational tools for teaching and learning, and the development of content expertise, and provide examples of how the framework is translated into practice. We follow this up with evidence from a preliminary study conducted with 10 teachers and 361 students, aimed at understanding the extent to which students learned from the activities. Results demonstrated gains in students’ complex systems understanding and biology content knowledge. In interviews, students identified influences of various aspects of the curriculum and instruction framework on their learning., National Science Foundation (U.S.) (1019228)

The recent next generation science standards in the United States have emphasized learning about complex systems as a core feature of science learning. Over the past 15 years, a number of educational tools and theories have been investigated to help students learn about complex systems; but surprisingly, little research has been devoted to identifying the supports that teachers need to teach about complex systems in the classroom. In this paper, we aim to address this gap in the literature. We describe a 2-year professional development study in which we gathered data on teachers’ abilities and perceptions regarding the delivery of computer-supported complex systems curricula. We present results across the 2 years of the project and demonstrate the need for particular instructional supports to improve implementation efforts, including providing differentiated opportunities to build expertise and addressing teacher beliefs about whether computational-model construction belongs in the science classroom. Results from students’ classroom experiences and learning over the 2 years are offered to further illustrate the impact of these instructional supports., National Science Foundation (U.S.). Discovery Research K– 12 (Grant 1019228)

We present a curriculum and instruction framework for computer-supported teaching and learning about complex systems in high school science classrooms. This work responds to a need in K-12 science education research and practice for the articulation of design features for classroom instruction that can address the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) recently launched in the USA. We outline the features of the framework, including curricular relevance, cognitively rich pedagogies, computational tools for teaching and learning, and the development of content expertise, and provide examples of how the framework is translated into practice. We follow this up with evidence from a preliminary study conducted with 10 teachers and 361 students, aimed at understanding the extent to which students learned from the activities. Results demonstrated gains in students’ complex systems understanding and biology content knowledge. In interviews, students identified influences of various aspects of the curriculum and instruction framework on their learning.

In this paper we present a framework for building complex systems understanding in high school biology classrooms. The goal is to provide a modular heuristic that can inform the construction of curricular and instructional experiences including tools for teaching and learning and professional development workshops. Brief examples from current National Science Foundation-funded project activities and evaluation results from an exploratory study demonstrate the utility of the framework in practice.

While research on teaching and learning about complex systems has achieved solid grounding in the learning sciences, few educational studies have focused on articulating design features for classroom implementation that can serve a modular purpose for building curricular and instructional experiences. Furthermore, despite the fact that several studies describe important roles for teachers in constructing successful classroom learning experiences, only a few of them examine how teachers’ instructional practices, knowledge, and beliefs influence student learning outcomes and the extent to which teachers are interested and willing to teach through complex systems approaches. Furthermore, we do not know what supports teachers themselves say that they need to teach about complex systems in their classrooms. In this study, we present a curriculum and instruction framework that outlines how teaching and learning about complex systems in high school science classroom contexts can be done. We articulate the features of the framework and provide examples of how the framework is translated into practice. We follow with evidence from an exploratory study conducted with 10 teachers and over 300 students aimed at understanding change in teachers’ instructional practices; the extent to which students learned from the activities; what teachers’ perceptions were in terms of utility and usability; and what other supports teachers needed.

While research on teaching and learning about complex systems has achieved solid grounding in the learning sciences, few educational studies have focused on articulating design features for classroom implementation that can serve a modular purpose for building curricular and instructional experiences. Furthermore, despite the fact that several studies describe important roles for teachers in constructing successful classroom learning experiences, only a few of them examine how teachers’ instructional practices, knowledge, and beliefs influence student learning outcomes and the extent to which teachers are interested and willing to teach through complex systems approaches. Furthermore, we do not know what supports teachers themselves say that they need to teach about complex systems in their classrooms. In this study, we present a curriculum and instruction framework that outlines how teaching and learning about complex systems in high school science classroom contexts can be done. We articulate the features of the framework and provide examples of how the framework is translated into practice. We follow with evidence from an exploratory study conducted with 10 teachers and over 300 students aimed at understanding change in teachers’ instructional practices; the extent to which students learned from the activities; what teachers’ perceptions were in terms of utility and usability; and what other supports teachers needed.

This paper presents a curriculum intervention intentionally designed to align with Next Generation Science Standards in the high-school biology classroom. The project emphasizes learning about complex systems through an agent-based modeling tool called StarLogo Nova. Five curricular units have been developed on the topics of enzymes, ecology, protein synthesis, gene regulation, and sugar transport. In this exploratory study we were interested in understanding the extent to which students demonstrated understanding and skills in NGSS areas as they were designed. Evidence is gleaned from classroom observations and interviews with 50 students selected from the larger population of 352 students who worked with project resources during the 2013-2014 school year. Findings revealed that students demonstrated understanding and skills in all NGSS scientific practices and crosscutting themes particularly in the areas of developing and using models, analyzing and interpreting data, cause and effect, and systems and system models.

In this paper we present a framework for building complex systems understanding in high school biology classrooms. The goal is to provide a modular heuristic that can inform the construction of curricular and instructional experiences including tools for teaching and learning and professional development workshops. Brief examples from current National Science Foundation-funded project activities and evaluation results from an exploratory study demonstrate the utility of the framework in practice.

Thesis (M. Eng.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 2006., Includes bibliographical references (leaf 60)., StarLogo TNG is "The Next Generation" in block-based decentralized programming for modeling and simulation software. Its aim is to make computer programming more appealing for students in middle school and high school. Part of the draw of StarLogo TNG is its 3-D rendered world called Spaceland where "agents" live on a terrain made of a grid of "patches". This thesis evaluates and outlines the redesign of Spaceland and its associated terrain editor based on user-task analysis, and discusses the design of new data structures to support the desired features., by Daniel J. Wendel., M.Eng.