The final evaluation report for the SGC4L project, University of Edinburgh
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Being able to discover students‟ conceptions and more importantly alternate- and misconceptions about a topic is vital in order to be able to assess and thus be able to improve student learning. It is well known that this can be achieved... more
Being able to discover students‟ conceptions and more importantly alternate- and misconceptions about a topic is vital in order to be able to assess and thus be able to improve student learning. It is well known that this can be achieved via the use of well-designed diagnostic tests, a widely used example of which is the Force Concept Inventory. Creating the right questions in order to form a reliable diagnostic test can be a lengthy and complicated process. This article reports work on a Development Project funded in 2008 to develop such a test for introductory Quantum Mechanics courses in both physics and chemistry. We present details of our methodology, which involves augmenting a „standard‟ multiple-choice question set with free-response boxes to determine the reasons for a student choosing a particular answer, and a self-assessment of their level of confidence in their choice. The responses from piloting this initial test in different institutions are used to inform the subsequ...
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The period of transition for students from school to university is of great importance, however it is also potentially fraught with difficulties. Incoming students are faced with a study environment very different to anything they have... more
The period of transition for students from school to university is of great importance, however it is also potentially fraught with difficulties. Incoming students are faced with a study environment very different to anything they have known before and often face a steep learning curve of new study skills and learning methods in order to keep afloat. Whilst these factors are well recognised and have been addressed in literature, there is a growing recognition of the fact that how students perceive their chosen subject has a large impact on how they perform. In fact it has been suggested that students‟ expectations of a subject may be better predictors of performance in tertiary education than the previous performance of students in school examinations.
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Personal attitudes and beliefs towards learning can influence the way students approach and study a subject; as a result, evaluation of attitudes and how these change over time is becoming increasingly common. We have carried out a study... more
Personal attitudes and beliefs towards learning can influence the way students approach and study a subject; as a result, evaluation of attitudes and how these change over time is becoming increasingly common. We have carried out a study looking at the changes in attitudes of first year physics students over two years at the University of Edinburgh. The Colorado Learning Attitudes About Science Survey (CLASS) was used to obtain a measure of expert-like thinking for students both pre- and post- first year teaching. The results have been subdivided to look at the differences between physics `majors' and `non-majors' as well as the differences in attitudes of female and male students. It was found, in line with previous studies, that students' levels of expert-like thinking decline after initial instruction. When the data was subdivided to look in more detail at specific sections of the undergraduate class it was seen that the decrease in expert-like thinking is much more m...
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Publisher Summary Acid zeolite catalysts are widely used commercially for hydrocarbon transformations. Consequently, there is continued discussion concerning both the measurement and interpretation of acidity in solid acids, and also the... more
Publisher Summary Acid zeolite catalysts are widely used commercially for hydrocarbon transformations. Consequently, there is continued discussion concerning both the measurement and interpretation of acidity in solid acids, and also the basis for enhanced acidity in zeolites. Several investigations suggest that in high-silica zeolites (Si/AI>7) acid sites tend to be isolated, have similar if not identical acid strength and function independently. Other reports emphasize co-operative features suggesting that neutralization of a few framework Broensted sites can decrease the acidity of the remainder. In hydrothermally treated zeolites enhanced acidity is associated with the presence of dislodged aluminium species in a manner not clearly defined. Recently we experimentally modelled sites having enhanced acidity by adding Lewis acids to H-forms of zeolites to provide some clarification of Lewis–Broensted acid interactions in solid acids. This chapter (1) extends theoretical modeling of the Broensted sites with enhanced acidity and (2) examines the effect of neutralizing framework Broensted sites on intrinsic acidity using both experimental methods and theoretical calculations.
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... 14 SP Bates and J. Dwyer, J. Phys. ... 18 MJ Frisch, GW Trucks, M. Head-Gordon, PMW Gill, MW Wong, JB Foresman, BG Johnson, HB Schlegel, MA Robb, ES Replogle, R. Gomperts, JL Andres, K. Raghavachari, JS Binkley, C. Gonzalez, RL... more
... 14 SP Bates and J. Dwyer, J. Phys. ... 18 MJ Frisch, GW Trucks, M. Head-Gordon, PMW Gill, MW Wong, JB Foresman, BG Johnson, HB Schlegel, MA Robb, ES Replogle, R. Gomperts, JL Andres, K. Raghavachari, JS Binkley, C. Gonzalez, RL Martin, DJ Fox, DJ DeFrees, J. Baker. ...
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... 4. Schematic of the proton transfer. 64 S. Bates and]. Dwyer J. Mol. Struct. ... References 1 CD Chang, Hydrocarbons from Methanol, Marcel Dekker, New York, 1983. 2 JE Jackson and PM Bertsch, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 112 (1990) 9085. 3 CD... more
... 4. Schematic of the proton transfer. 64 S. Bates and]. Dwyer J. Mol. Struct. ... References 1 CD Chang, Hydrocarbons from Methanol, Marcel Dekker, New York, 1983. 2 JE Jackson and PM Bertsch, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 112 (1990) 9085. 3 CD Chang, Catal. Rev., 26(3,4) (1984) 323. ...
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This paper addresses the determination of statistically desirable response rates in students’ surveys, with emphasis on assessing the effect of underlying variability in the student evaluation of teaching (SET). We discuss factors... more
This paper addresses the determination of statistically desirable response rates in students’ surveys, with emphasis on assessing the effect of underlying variability in the student evaluation of teaching (SET). We discuss factors affecting the determination of adequate response rates and highlight challenges caused by non-response and lack of randomization. Estimates of underlying variability were obtained for a period of 4 years, from online evaluations at the University of British Columbia (UBC). Simulations were used to examine the effect of underlying variability on desirable response rates. The UBC response rates were compared to those reported in the literature. Results indicate that small differences in underlying variability may not impact desired rates. We present acceptable response rates for a range of variability scenarios, class sizes, confidence level, and margin of error. The stability of estimates observed at UBC, over a 4-year period, indicates that valid model-based inferences of SET could be made.
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... Judy Hardy1, Simon Bates2, Jon Hill1, and Mario Antonioletti1 1 EPCC and 2 The School of Physics The University of Edinburgh James Clerk Maxwell Building, Mayfield Road, Edinburgh EH9 3JZ {j.hardy, spbates, Jon.Hill,... more
... Judy Hardy1, Simon Bates2, Jon Hill1, and Mario Antonioletti1 1 EPCC and 2 The School of Physics The University of Edinburgh James Clerk Maxwell Building, Mayfield Road, Edinburgh EH9 3JZ {j.hardy, spbates, Jon.Hill, Mario.Antonioletti}@ed.ac.uk Abstract. ...
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ABSTRACT The relationship between students' use of PeerWise, an online tool that facilitates peer learning through student-generated content in the form of multiple-choice questions (MCQs), and achievement, as measured by their... more
ABSTRACT The relationship between students' use of PeerWise, an online tool that facilitates peer learning through student-generated content in the form of multiple-choice questions (MCQs), and achievement, as measured by their performance in the end-of-module examinations, was investigated in 5 large early-years science modules (in physics, chemistry and biology) across 3 research-intensive UK universities. A complex pattern was observed in terms of which type of activity (writing, answering or commenting on questions) was most beneficial for students; however, there was some evidence that students of lower intermediate ability may have gained particular benefit. In all modules, a modest but statistically significant positive correlation was found between students' PeerWise activity and their examination performance, after taking prior ability into account. This suggests that engaging with the production and discussion of student-generated content in the form of MCQs can support student learning in a way that is not critically dependent on course, institution, instructor or student.
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ABSTRACT Inspired by a paper at last year's PERC conference, in which Rebello [1] compared students' individual and cohort mean score estimations with their actual assessment scores, we present results of a study in which... more
ABSTRACT Inspired by a paper at last year's PERC conference, in which Rebello [1] compared students' individual and cohort mean score estimations with their actual assessment scores, we present results of a study in which students in an introductory physics class were asked to predict their scores on two assessments, one delivered at the start of the course (pre-instruction) and one at the end of the course (post-instruction). Our results show that, pre-instruction, the academically strongest students tend to underestimate their score slightly, whereas the weakest overestimate their performance significantly, consistent with the findings of Rebello and demonstrating a well-known cognitive bias (the Dunning-Kruger effect). Post-instruction, we find that the ability of the original weakest quartile cohort to accurately predict their own assessment score has improved significantly, but a flux of students between quartiles from one assessment to the other reveals that the least able students continue to over-estimate their performance, but with a reduced mean discrepancy. We discuss the implications these results have for instruction and for development of enhanced metacognition amongst physics students.
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... MJ Frisch, GW Trucks, M. Head-Gordon, PMW Gill, MW Wong, JB Foresman, BG Johnson, HB Schlegel, MA Robb, ES Replogle, R. Gomperts, JL Andres, K. Raghavachari, JS Binkley, C. Gonzalez, RL Martin, DJ Fox, DJ Defrees ... F. Lonyi and JH... more
... MJ Frisch, GW Trucks, M. Head-Gordon, PMW Gill, MW Wong, JB Foresman, BG Johnson, HB Schlegel, MA Robb, ES Replogle, R. Gomperts, JL Andres, K. Raghavachari, JS Binkley, C. Gonzalez, RL Martin, DJ Fox, DJ Defrees ... F. Lonyi and JH Lunsford, J.Catal., 136 (1992) 566 ...
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The electronic structure of the single-component molecular crystal tetramethyltetratelluronapthtalene (TMTTeN) is determined at ambient and high pressure using density functional theory. The crystal is found to be a semiconductor at... more
The electronic structure of the single-component molecular crystal tetramethyltetratelluronapthtalene (TMTTeN) is determined at ambient and high pressure using density functional theory. The crystal is found to be a semiconductor at ambient pressure with a bandgap of 1.24 eV. The application of pressure results in a transition to a metallic state for pressures greater than 20 GPa. The onset of metallicity is the result of pressure-enhanced intermolecular interactions. Investigation of the electronic structure reveals subtle pressure-induced modifications in the nature of the HOMO and LUMO bands. Structurally, the application of pressure forms new Te-Te metallic contacts in addition to shortening the contacts present at ambient pressure. The pressure-induced increase in bandwidth may be related to the formation of these new contacts, suggesting that they are responsible for the formation of the metallic state. Our calculations indicate the molecular structure of the TMTTeN molecule is preserved; thus, the results suggest that pressure-induced metallization of single-component molecular crystals without the occurrence of molecular dissociation is possible.