Emily Faulconer
Embry-Riddle Aernautical University
FL

Tue, Mar 24, 2020 10:24 AM
Formative Assessment in STEM

The authors present a unique approach to collecting information about formative assessment by using a trained undergraduate student as a "learning researcher". This person makes observations and asks exploratory questions in order to provide the instructor with a daily report from the front lines of learning tasks. This study states benefits to both instructors and the learning researchers. Overall, this is an interesting approach to evaluating one's teaching as well as student learning ahead of a deliverable or major assessment.

Tue, Mar 24, 2020 10:17 AM
Explanatory Thinking with Mobile Devices

This article provides a great overview of explanatory thinking, including student work using this pedagogical approach (Figure 1). The reported student perspectives and the student model development are compelling. It would have been interesting to see if there was a correlation between some of the student perspectives, though. For example, I am curious if there was a correlation between Question 3 and Question 4 responses (see Figure 4). Overall, strong article on combining a constructivist approach with mobile learning to enhance student motivation and learning.

Point of View: Confusing Science Vocabulary: When Negative Is Positive!

Thu, Feb 20, 2020 11:58 AM
Science Vocabulary

This is a great piece that explains how students can struggle with words that have one meaning in science but another in other disciplines or their personal life. One I see my students struggle with is the idea of a theory - which has a specific meaning in science but is more equivalent to a hypothesis in lay uses I tend to come across. This piece has encouraged me to do some self-reflecting to see how I can improve the vocabulary in my chemistry and environmental science classes to avoid confusion.