Michael Hubenthal

Posters that Foster Cognition in the Classroom: Multimedia Theory Applied to Educational Posters

Despite a decline in popularity within US society, posters continue to hold a prominent place within middle and high school science classrooms. Teachers’ demand is satisfied by governmental and non-profit science organizations that produce and disseminate posters as tangible products resulting from their research, and instruments to communicate scientific content to teachers and students. In this paper, we examine the design of such posters for their implied, underlying assumptions about learning and their alignment to the unique setting of the classroom. Based on this analysis and research into both cognition and the design of multimedia, we propose a design framework for educational posters that activates students’ attention, catalyzes cognitive processing, provides a framework to guide student’s construction of knowledge and connects to extended learning through live or web-based exploration of phenomenon. Based on this framework, we present a prototype poster and explore implications for poster producers, teachers, and academic researchers.

Taking Research Experiences for Undergraduates Online

To todays budding scientists, the notion of sharing experiences and working collaboratively with distant peers is not a novelty. Instead, this is what most young scientists expect to achieve through the Internet portals they carry in their pockets and backpacks. They have never known a world without information and communication technologies (ICT) such as laptops, mobile phones, text messaging, and the Internet. As a result, they have grown to rely on uninterrupted access to the Internet for a range of information-gathering and communication activities. Further, this generation of students has fully embraced structured online learning opportunities. For example, in 2011 more than 6.7 million U.S. students in higher education took at least one online course [Allen and Seaman, 2013].

Undergraduate engineering students investigate inexpensive seismometer design

Using seismometers as a catalyst for learning, the IRIS Consortium has partnered with the Colorado School of Mines (CSM) and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to intensively expose the 2002 CSM freshman engineering class to geophysics instrument design. These students worked to design inexpensive seismic recording systems for use in educational environments as part of the Engineering Practices Introductory Course Sequence (EPICS). Through the EPICS courses, CSM strives to strengthen the ability of first-year engineering students to resolve open-ended problems in a team environment and learn skills that are vital to their success as engineers. Students learn AutoCAD, technical drawing/drafting skills, prototyping, analysis skills, and communication skills necessary to present and promote engineering design solutions to the professional community. These engineering skills, introduced through coursework, are applied to an open-ended engineering challenge throughout the semester. Although the CSM faculty clearly has skills and expertise in engineering, as well as the pedagogy to deliver this information, the program needs exciting, real-world engineering challenges, technical support to develop the problem, and the human resources and experience to provide students with sufficient content knowledge to attempt the challenge.