Randa L. Shehab

The statistics concept inventory: a pilot study

The statistics concept inventory (SCI) is a multiple choice testing instrument that is being developed to assess student understanding of fundamental statistics concepts and to identify commonly held misconceptions. This study pilot tested the SCI with four different introductory statistics courses with students from a broad range of disciplines. The effects of discipline and gender on performance on the SCI were investigated along with the relationship of mathematics experience, statistics experience, and attitude toward statistics as measured with the survey of attitudes toward statistics (SATS) [Schau, C. et al., 2002]. The results of this study indicate that discipline has a small effect on performance on the SCI. Mathematics majors performed significantly better than social science majors, but no other pair of majors performed significantly different. The effect of gender on performance was significant with males outperforming females. SCI scores were positively correlated with mathematics experience and with attitude scores obtained on the SATS. SCI scores were not found to be correlated with statistics experience.

Cognitive performance aboard the life and microgravity spacelab.

The impact of microgravity and other stressors on cognitive performance need to be quantified before long duration space flights are planned or attempted since countermeasures may be required. Four astronauts completed 38 sessions of a 20-minute battery of six cognitive performance tests on a laptop computer. Twenty-four sessions were preflight, 9 sessions were in-orbit, and 5 sessions were postflight. Mathematical models of learning were fit to each subjects preflight data for each of 14 dependent variables. Assuming continued improvement, expected values were generated from the models for in-orbit comparison. Using single subject designs, two subjects showed statistically significant in-orbit effects. One subject was degraded in two tests, the other was degraded in one test and exceeded performance expectations in another. Other subjects showed no statistically significant effects on the tests. The factors causing the deterioration in the two subjects can not be determined without appropriate ground-based control groups.

The NASA performance assessment workstation: Cognitive performance during head-down bed rest

The NASA Performance Assessment Workstation was used to assess cognitive performance changes in eight males subjected to seventeen days of 6 degrees head-down bed rest. PAWS uses six performance tasks to assess directed and divided attention, spatial, mathematical, and memory skills, and tracking ability. Subjective scales assess overall fatigue and mood state. Subjects completed training trials, practice trials, bed rest trials, and recovery trials. The last eight practice trials and all bed rest trials were performed with subjects lying face-down on a gurney. In general, there was no apparent cumulative effect of bed rest. Following a short period of performance stabilization, a slight but steady trend of performance improvement was observed across all trials. For most tasks, this trend of performance improvement was enhanced during recovery. No statistically significant differences in performance were observed when comparing bed rest with the control period. Additionally, fatigue scores showed little change across all periods.

Teachers in an Interdisciplinary Learning Community: Engaging, Integrating, and Strengthening K-12 Education

This study examines the inputs (processes and strategies) and outputs (perceptions, skill development, classroom transfer, disciplinary integration, social networking, and community development) of a yearlong, interdisciplinary teacher learning and development experience. Eleven secondary math and science teachers partnered with an interdisciplinary team of university engineering mentors in a yearlong engineering education and project implementation program. It consisted of a 6-week on-site resident professional development and collaboration experience, with an ongoing support and follow-up including digital systems. Mixed-method, multisource data indicate that teachers engaged with motivations combining personal, intrinsic interest and classroom integration goals. They formed and sustained an active community of learning and practice that supported their success, on-site and through classroom integration, thereby promoting innovations. Teachers reported positive perceptions throughout the program and demonstrated significant, productive trajectories of change-over-time. Teachers learned and transferred task-specific engineering and scientific skills, as well as more general inquiry-based pedagogical strategies to their secondary classrooms.

Applying quality control charts to the analysis of single-subject data sequences.

Techniques from the field of quality control can be used to classify the quality of individual samples of physical or cognitive performance. After stable baselines have been established for an individual, deviations in performance can be evaluated using control charts. The effectiveness of this approach in evaluating cognitive performance was tested using databases collected under a variety of risk factors. The sensitivity and specificity characteristics of Shewhart, cumulativesum (CUSUM), and exponentially weighted moving average (EWMA) control charts were determined for a total of 174 trials involving 10 participants and 23 cognitive performance assessment measures. The most effective technique in each case was typically a function of the specific performance measure and the type of performance change being evaluated. Sensitivity and specificity for the best techniques were as high as 100%. This study demonstrated the usefulness of quality control charts as a tool to evaluate individual participant performance over time. Actual or potential applications of this research include readiness-to-perform screening of industrial workers in order to improve the health and safety of the workforce.

Effects of Age and Psychomotor Ability on Kinematics of Mouse-mediated Aiming Movement

The objective of this research is to understand the influence of age and age-related psychomotor ability on the process of mouse-mediated aiming movement. It is premised on the notions that (1) mouse-mediated aiming movements can be better understood via studying its kinematics and (2) age is a surrogate variable in kinematic differences, and that age-influenced fundamental factors such as psychomotor ability may have a more direct effect. As expected, age kinematic differences were detected. However, when comparing with age, age-influenced psychomotor ability (i.e. manual dexterity) contributed more substantially to the variances of kinematics in the ballistic phase. For homing phase, in addition to manual dexterity, age-influenced wrist–finger speed was also a significant contributor. In future studies, it is suggested that components of visual processing should be included for better understanding of its role as an age-influenced fundamental ability in aiming movements. Applications of this research are discussed. Practitioner Summary: This paper presents empirical data showing age effects in movement kinematics are chiefly mediated by age-related changes in psychomotor ability. Our findings provide additional data for existing and newer performance enhancement solutions, especially for those targeting older adults.

The effects of three statistical control charts on task performance

This study investigated the effects of graphical characteristics on three common statistical process control (SPC) charts, Shewhart , exponentially weighted moving average (EWMA) and cumulative sum (CUSUM) charts, with a near-equivalent statistical performance. Three main tasks, identification of out-of-control (OOC) points, estimation of process mean and identification of process pattern, were designed to evaluate the effectiveness of these charts. Participant response time and accuracy were collected. Results showed that each SPC chart performed equally well in perception and identification of OOC. For the mean shift task, charts yielded the fastest response times, and both and EWMA charts produced similar accuracy. However, all SPC charts led to consistently poor performance in the pattern tasks. For subjective preferences, participants reported a preference for charts in all experimental tasks, and the only difference noted between the EWMA and CUSUM charts was for the pattern task. These findings suggest the advantages of charts, which may account for their widespread use in industries, over EWMA and CUSUM charts. Computationally, charts were easier to understand and, graphically, they provided more direct information. Thus, statistical performance as well as human performance using these tools are important elements to consider in the selection of the appropriate SPC technique.

“We weren't intentionally excluding them…just old habits”: Women, (lack of) interest and an engineering student competition team

Student, experiential-learning, engineering, competition teams (SELECT) provide an opportunity for engineering students to practice engineering technical and professional skills. The low representation of women in SELECT is often rationalized as a lack of interest by individual women rather than systemic processes that discourage or exclude women. We employ a qualitative-interpretive design and a cultural constructionist lens to bring into focus the interplay of individual interests, understandings of appropriate gender roles, and structural elements that contribute to a culture of inclusion or exclusion. Primary data consist of 90-minute semi-structured interviews of eight team members and one non-member. By interpreting the narrative portraits of two female students, we show the construction of a team culture where in general women are discouraged from participation based on stereotyped gender roles, by night campus attitudes, and by peers who challenge or ignore their skills, contributions, and interests. One woman persevered through the male-dominated culture because she received the encouragement and support of male peers who engaged as comrades and champions. This paper offers recommendations for institutions to demonstrate commitment to equitable access to experiential learning and to nurture student peer cultures that challenge historic gendered ideologies and rhetoric.

Designing and evaluating a STEM teacher learning opportunity in the research university

This study examines the design and evaluation strategies for a year-long teacher learning and development experience, including their effectiveness, efficiency and recommendations for strategic redesign. Design characteristics include programmatic features and outcomes: cognitive, affective and motivational processes; interpersonal and social development; and performance activities. Program participants were secondary math and science teachers, partnered with engineering faculty mentors, in a research university-based education and support program. Data from multiple sources demonstrated strengths and weaknesses in design of the programs learning environment, including: face-to-face and via digital tools; on-site and distance community interactions; and strategic evaluation tools and systems. Implications are considered for the strategic design and evaluation of similar grant-funded research experiences intended to support teacher learning, development and transfer.

Leveraging the Use of Mobile Applications to Increase Knowledge Retention in a Classroom Lecture

This research sought to determine if the use of mobile applications (e.g., iPhone® apps) had an impact on students’ ability to learn new material. A control group was compared against a group of students who used mobile devices during a statistics lecture. Students participated separately in a lecture followed by a period of either pencil and paper only or technology-assisted examples. They then took a quiz over the material. The data collected shows that the app group outperformed the control group on every question and scored 16% higher overall. A post-experimental survey found that participants in the app group felt strongly that mobile applications helped them understand the new concepts more clearly and were more confident in their ability to quickly learn this new material than the control group. Overall, this research demonstrates that technology-assisted learning positively impacts students’ learning. It also suggests that technology is changing the way people think and learn.