Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

First-Semester Organic Chemistry During Covid-19: Prioritizing Group Work, Flexibility, And Student Engagement, Leslie A. Nickerson, Kevin M. Shea

Chemistry: Faculty Publications

Our first-semester organic chemistry class focused on structured group work to enable active learning in class. When Smith College switched to online learning after spring break, the class was adapted to fit into an online learning model while retaining active learning. Using feedback from students, we implemented two tracks, one focused on independent work and one focused on group work. Using Zoom’s breakout rooms, we were able to simulate the full class and small group experiences of our in-person class with the help of student learning assistants to facilitate group learning. Slack was introduced for class questions and communications. Student …

The Gentle Man Who Taught Infinity, Sheshagiri K.M. Rao

Teacher India

Sheshagiri KM Rao describes the non-conventional teaching methods of his high school mathematics teacher Channa who helped students to discover the beauty in mathematics.

Predictive Accuracy Of Recommender Algorithms, William Blake Noffsinger

CCE Theses and Dissertations

Recommender systems present a customized list of items based upon user or item characteristics with the objective of reducing a large number of possible choices to a smaller ranked set most likely to appeal to the user. A variety of algorithms for recommender systems have been developed and refined including applications of deep learning neural networks. Recent research reports point to a need to perform carefully controlled experiments to gain insights about the relative accuracy of different recommender algorithms, because studies evaluating different methods have not used a common set of benchmark data sets, baseline models, and evaluation metrics. The …

Math Department 2019-2020 Newsletter, Mathematics Department

Mathematics Newsletter

Welcome to our annual Mathematics Department Newsletter. This was an unusual year for our department as the coronavirus cut short our time on campus this year. Hence we were unable to have our usual events such as the Annual Mathematics Lecture, the Pi Mu Epsilon Induction and Awards Night, and there was no in-person commencement ceremony. But despite that, many great things happened in our department.

The Planet, 2020, Winter, Alex Meacham, Huxley College Of The Environment, Western Washington University

The Planet

No abstract provided.

Implementing Cloud-Based Enterprise Resource Planning Solutions In Small And Medium Enterprises, Ali Hamdar

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Lacking strategies to implement a cloud-based enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can lead to a failed implementation. SME owners can improve company performance by integrating company processes by successfully implementing a cloud-based ERP solution. Grounded in the diffusion of innovation theory augmented with business process management design for Six Sigma, the purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore strategies SME owners use to implement cloud-based ERP solutions. The participants consisted of 4 SME owners in Lebanon who successfully implemented a cloud-based ERP solution and improved company performance and growth. Data were …

Geophysical Investigations Of The San Andreas Fault System And Evaluations In Geoscience Education, Sandra Hardy

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Chapter 1: Investigating Earthquake Cycle Vertical Deformation Recorded by GPS And Regional Tide Gauge Stations in California

Geodetic and tide gauge measurements of vertical deformation record localized zones of uplift and subsidence that may document critical components of both long and short-period earthquake cycle deformation. In this study, we compare vertical tide gauge data from the Permanent Service for Mean Sea Level (PSMSL) and vertical GPS data from the EarthScope Plate Boundary Observatory (PBO) for 10 approximately co-located station pairs along coastal California from Point Reyes, CA to Ensenada, Mexico. To compare these two data sets, we first truncate both …

The Artificial University: Decision Support For Universities In The Covid-19 Era, Wesley J. Wildman, Saikou Y. Diallo, George Hodulik, Andrew Page, Andreas Tolk, Neha Gondal

VMASC Publications

Operating universities under pandemic conditions is a complex undertaking. The Artificial University (TAU) responds to this need. TAU is a configurable, open-source computer simulation of a university using a contact network based on publicly available information about university classes, residences, and activities. This study evaluates health outcomes for an array of interventions and testing protocols in an artificial university of 6,500 students, faculty, and staff. Findings suggest that physical distancing and centralized contact tracing are most effective at reducing infections, but there is a tipping point for compliance below which physical distancing is less effective. If student compliance is anything …

Momentum 2020, Stephanie Clarke

Momentum

A journal of undergraduate research

Conformal Geometry Of Polygons, Michael Albert

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

Conformal maps are functions from subsets of the complex plane to the complex plane that locally preserve angles. Our goal is to understand conformal maps that pass to and from polygonal domains. In order to do so, we derive some of the basic theory of harmonic functions on simply connected domains. In particular, our goal with the first few sections is to prove the Schwarz Reflection principle. Using this, as well as other tools from complex analysis, we give an in-depth explanation of Tao’s proof of the Schwarz-Christoffel formula. This is a differential equation that allows one to compute a …

Meta-Analysis As A Tool For Increasing Students' Scientific Thinking, Jennifer Fayard

Books and Monographs

Many professors are familiar with students who come into their first statistics course with a pronounced lack of interest (Rajecki, Appleby, Williams, Johnson, & Jeschke, 2005), or even an intense fear of math. Often, when statistics is paired with a research course, the context of using math to answer a question about human behavior helps them understand what those numbers mean, and if we are lucky, their fear turns to interest or even excitement. But is the reverse true--can understanding statistics help students understand how science works and how to do better research? Incorporating a meta-analysis unit in introductory statistics …

Maine Cooperative Fish And Wildlife Research Unit And Department Of Wildlife, Fisheries, And Conservation Biology 2020 Report To Cooperators, Maine Cooperative Fish And Wildlife Research Unit, Cynthia S. Loftin, Rena A. Carey

General University of Maine Publications

The Maine Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit and the University of Maine Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Conservation Biology are pleased to summarize the past year’s research accomplishments and activities in this annual report. Together, we have collaborated with scientists from State and Federal agencies, universities, and non-governmental organizations on 37 research projects presented in the pages that follow. These collaborative relationships enable us to pose a variety of research questions in interdisciplinary studies to address the resource management information needs of our research sponsors and to advance science in wildlife and fisheries ecology, management, and conservation. We value …

Journal Of The Arkansas Academy Of Science - Volume 74, 2020, Academy Editors

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

No abstract provided.

The Effects Of A Computer Based Program On Student Mathematics Achievement Within An Urban Middle School In Georgia, Sheree Barnes

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this quantitative study was to investigate the effects of adaptive computer-assisted instruction (CAI) on student mathematics achievement. The researcher sought to describe factors that may influence academic achievement for eight-grade students. The instruments used to gather data were post curriculum-based mathematics benchmark assessment data administered during fall, winter, and spring semesters, the spring mathematic assessment for the Georgia Milestones, and open and close-ended questionnaires. A purposeful sampling of 63 students were chosen to complete questionnaires. Data analyzed from the 2018 Mathematics scores from SchoolCity and the Georgia Milestones revealed that the SuccessMaker® online adaptive software tool positively …

Aligning Workforce Training Center Curricula With Local Business Needs, Elizabeth P. Burns

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Many cities in the United States have experienced job loss due to a shift from industrial-based to information and service economies, as well as the outsourcing of labor jobs to overseas locations. In the absence of industrial jobs once occupied by low-skilled workers, the problem that compelled this study was a perceived gap between the skills required by the employers who now hire such workers and the actual skills those workers have. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore the espoused skills required by employers in a rural region of the southeastern United States to inform the …

Transformative Education In Agroecology: Student, Teacher, And Client Involvement In Co-Learning, Charles A. Francis, Anna Marie Nicolaysen, Geir Lieblein, Tor Arvid Breland

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Educational methods have evolved rapidly in agroecology, which is a complex and holistic field without a long history or the formal tradition of any single academic discipline. Definitions of agroecology have evolved from its initial conception as a marriage of agriculture with ecology, to an aggregation of different paths including science, practices, and movements, and recently as a broad appreciation of the ecology of food systems. In contrast with traditional courses that begin with a history of the discipline and review the contributions of early leaders, we have embraced phenomenology to firmly establish roots in students’ learning through their experiences …

Tolle Lege Works Published In 2020, Mcquade Library

Bibliographies

Compiled Tolle Lege bibliography of works published by members of the Merrimack College Community in 2020. Works include journal articles, books, book chapters, conference presentations and posters, and more.

Introducing Parallelism To First-Year Cs Majors, Barbara M. Anthony, D. Cenk Erdil, Olga Glebova, Robert Montante

School of Computer Science & Engineering Faculty Publications

We propose to strengthen the computer science (CS) curriculum by embedding parallel concepts in a required first-semester seminar taken by all incoming declared CS majors. We introduce students to parallel computing concepts through a series of unplugged activities so that students see parallel approaches as a natural form of solution to a task. We describe a pilot offering of the class and activities, with measurements and analysis of what students self-report and their performance on assessments.

Leading Through Change: 2020, Domenick Pinto

School of Computer Science & Engineering Faculty Publications

Having served as department chair and school director for 31 years, I have witnessed a tremendous evolution in the role of chair as economic, social and student climates have changed. My session will summarize collected data from chairs of departments of various sizes and types in order to discuss and understand better our ever changing role as we see responsibilities of delegating, leading change, creative budgeting and fundraising, grant writing and managing conflict become vital to our positions.

A Multi-Method Investigation Of The Modern Sedimentation And Late Holocene Paleolimnology Of June Lake (Mono County, Ca), And A Survey-Based Analysis Of Ninth Graders’ Attitudes Towards Geology, Eva Lyon

Theses and Dissertations--Earth and Environmental Sciences

Three distinct manuscripts comprise this dissertation. The first analyzes the modern sedimentary basin of June Lake, a small glacial lake in the eastern Sierra Nevada of California (USA) using a number of data sets, including bathymetry, surface sediment composition, and seismic stratigraphy. The seismic survey revealed sublacustrine morphological features that suggest the basin originated due to ice scour, as well as four acoustically distinct stratigraphic units that reflect the history of sedimentation following glacial scouring. Corroborating the seismic record, sediment cores from the youngest unit are composed of hemipelagically deposited, organic-rich, laminated diatomaceous oozes alternating with coarse tephra beds. The …

A Collaborative Online Micro: Bit K-12 Teacher Pd Workshop, Roisin Faherty, Karen Nolan, Keith Quille

Conference Papers

This poster describes the use of online technology to deliver K12 teacher professional development (PD) during the COVID-19 pandemic in Ireland. Traditionally these sessions are delivered in person, with a focus on hand-on activities, but the sudden changes faced by the closures in Ireland required an alternative approach for delivering these sessions. The PD session presented in this poster was a more technically challenging micro:bit workshop, which was delivered online using the micro:bit classroom. This is typically used as an in-class, one to many instructor tool, and trialing this as a PD collaborative tool, was a novel approach. This poster …

Mathematics Cognitive And Content Abilities Across The Vincentian Student Population, Brendalee Rorena Cato

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Mathematics achievement is a key component of student overall academic achievement. However, many students from Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (Vincentian students) continue to perform poorly on the regional Caribbean Secondary Examination Certificate (CSEC) mathematics examination. This poor mathematics performance is a concern for education stakeholders. The purpose of this quantitative, nonexperimental study was to explore the extent to which the CSEC mathematics scores of high-scoring Vincentian students versus low-scoring Vincentian students in the cognitive domains of knowledge, comprehension, and reasoning differ across the content domains of algebra; geometry; measurement; statistics; and relations, functions, and graphs (RFG). The theoretical foundation …

Youth Leadership Development Program Evaluation, Loreley Lyn Smith

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In competitive youth sports organizations, few organizational leaders focus on leadership development to prepare youth for life situations. Sports organizational leaders are concerned about youth leadership development, as development allows youth to build skills necessary to understand their strengths and weaknesses and recognize ways to overcome fears. Grounded in social learning theory, the purpose of this summative program evaluation was to determine the extent to which a competitive youth sports leadership development program aligned with the organization’s primary objective to provide skilled athletic training while providing lessons to prepare youth for adulthood. The participants comprised 40 key stakeholders, including participants …

Perceptions, Potholes, And Possibilities Of Using Digital Voice Assistants To Differentiate Instructions, Adrian A. Weir

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Access to technologies and understanding the potential uses of technology to differentiate instruction have been a concern for the teachers and students in a local school district located in the southeastern United States. Despite the emergence of digital voice assistants (DVAs) as tools for instructions, teachers lack knowledge and strategies for using DVAs to differentiate instruction in their classrooms. The purpose of this qualitative study was to identify teacher knowledge and strategies employed among special education (SPED) teachers using DVAs to differentiate instruction in their classrooms. The concepts of Carol Tomlinson’s differentiation theory and Mishra and Koehler’s TPACK framework served …

Using Site Visits To Strengthen Collaboration, Victor Piercey, Rebecca Segal, Afroditi Filippas, Tao Chen, Soloman Kone, Rosalyn Hargraves, Jack Bookman, John Hearn, Debbie Pike, Kathy Williams Phd

Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations

The SUMMIT-P project is a multi-institutional endeavor to leverage interdisciplinary collaboration in order to improve the teaching of undergraduate mathematics courses in the first two years of college. One goal of this work is to establish collaborative communities among the institutions involved. As part of the project, institutions visit one another on site visits that are structured according to a common protocol. The site visits have been valuable to the project. Participating institutions report the exchange of actionable ideas and feedback; members of the grant leadership team have used the site visits to direct the overall project, and evaluators have …

Good Teachers Borrow, Great Teachers Steal: A Case Study In Borrowing For A Teaching Project, Mike May, Rebecca Segal, Victor Piercey, Tao Chen

Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations

Very few great ideas in teaching are without ancestors or descendants. This paper presents a case study in how one particular pedagogical project, the work at Saint Louis University as part of the National Science Foundation supported SUMMIT-P consortium, borrowed from other sources. The particular project was an interdisciplinary collaboration to make mathematics education more effective for business students. The various borrowings are treated in roughly chronological order from initial inspiration through planned adoption and adaptation of the work of others to the addition of features that only became available mid-project. The kinds of sources include a particular business calculus …

Examination Of Practices Used By Ap Computer Science Teachers With Higher Than Average Female Enrollment, Derek J. Miller

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation examines the practices employed by AP Computer Science A teachers that can help recruit and retain female students in computer science. A survey was sent to teachers to see what practices they used in their classrooms and what practices they thought had the biggest influence on female student recruitment and retention. Of the five practice categories (recruitment, pedagogical, curricular, extracurricular, and mentoring), the survey respondents thought recruitment was the most influential and curricular was the least influential. After the survey, 12 teachers were chosen for interviews because they had a higher enrollment of female students than the rest …

Smith New Neilson Library: Healthier Materials, Dano Weisbord, Matthew Gifford, Amanda Garvey

The New Neilson Library

With so much change happening in the manufacturing industry with the onset of new product transparency and disclosure standards, it can be difficult to know how to get involved in market transformation efforts. Our goal for this session is to share an example of how Smith College tackled this challenge. It will include an overview of the Material Health & Transparency Initiative implemented on the Neilson Library project, and the project's team efforts to use this iconic building as a way to advocate for positive change in the marketplace.

Additional materials include draft presentation in parts and whole.

It Security Managers' Strategies For Mitigating Data Breaches In Texas School Districts, Mercy Ikhuoria Nwankwo

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

School districts are increasingly becoming a prime target for cybercriminals. As a result, information technology (IT) security managers in Texas school districts are concerned about hackers gaining access to network resources that could lead to data breaches on their network. Grounded in the technology threat avoidance theory, the purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore strategies IT security managers use to mitigate data breaches in school district networks in Texas. The participants comprised 6 IT security managers in 3 Texas school districts whose roles involved managing and implementing data security strategies. Data collection involved conducting semistructured interviews …

Polymer Chemistry Education To Increase Student Awareness Of Plastic Pervasiveness And Environmental Impact, Victoria Hill

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

A polymer-pollution-focused laboratory sequence was written to teach general chemistry concepts in a course for pre-service elementary teachers. Students experienced the difficulties related to polymer pollution clean-up and made bio-based materials to see possible alternatives. In order to determine whether this laboratory sequence changed student understanding of the importance of polymers and their environmental impact, student opinions were gathered with pre/post-course sequence surveys, observations, post-laboratory surveys, and focus group interviews. These same data collection methods were also used to determine the likelihood that the pre-service elementary teachers would teach these polymer and environmental laboratories or their concepts in the future. …