We describe a pilot study that explores whether or not medical students can understand visual representations of expert thinking. This research builds upon our previous work in developing a methodology to support knowledge elicitation and knowledge validation in the ill-defined domain of medical case-based instruction [1]. Second-year medical students were assigned to one of two feedback condit...

GPCRs play a key role in transmembrane signaling and are involved in many physiological processes, such as regulation of behavior, heart rate and the immune system. Therefore they are very important targets for pharmaceutical agents. Our project focuses on the b2 Adrenergic Receptor [1,2] (b2AR). The b2AR is mainly involved in vasodilation and bronchodilation in the human body. The recently sol...

Abstract Engaging with social, political, and cultural topics can pose challenges in English language teaching classrooms. These sites represent linguistically diverse settings housing distinct ideologies. This article documents classroom interactions that began exposure to a science fiction film progressed discussion of contemporary sociopolitical concerns resonated ELLs. Drawing on this case ...

One of the theories accounting for pragmatic development of L2 learners is Vygotsky’s (1978) sociocultural  theory.  This  study  investigated  the  development  of  EFL  learners'  pragmatic competence through the lens of an important concept of Vygotsky’s theory, i.e.  the  zone  of proximal  development.  The  study  was  conducted  to  answer  two  questions.  The  first  question was wheth...

Infants become increasingly helpful during the second year. We investigated experimentally whether adults' explicit scaffolding influences this development. Infants (N = 69, 13-18 months old) participated in a series of simple helping tasks. Half of infants received explicit scaffolding (encouragement and praise), whereas the other half did not. Among younger infants (below 15 months), infants ...

Moderating multiple e-discussions at a time puts high demands on teachers as moderators. Therefore, to be able to provide effective moderation, teachers should be given adequate awareness support. We evaluated our e-moderation system called “Moderator’s Interface” comparing moderation with and without awareness support. Following a within subject design, our cases were two teachers who were ask...

Computer-based scaffolding assists students as they generate solutions to complex problems, goals, or tasks, helping increase and integrate their higher order skills in the process. However, despite decades of research on scaffolding in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education, no existing comprehensive meta-analysis has synthesized the results of these studies. This r...

the concept of teacher efficacy has received significant attention in educational contexts in the recent years and has been empirically probed at 2 levels: individual teacher efficacy and collective teacher efficacy. having their origins in the social cognitive theory, teacher and collective efficacy perceptions are quite distinct constructs, each affecting educational decisions and student ach...