• Title/Summary/Keyword: STEM education

Search Result 271, Processing Time 0.028 seconds

The Role of Science Knowledge Application in Improving Engineering Problem Solving Skills

  • Nam, Younkyeong;Chae, Jimin
    • Journal of the Korean earth science society
    • /
    • v.40 no.4
    • /
    • pp.436-445
    • /
    • 2019
  • This study presents how two types of integrated science and engineering lessons affect students' engineering problem solving skills and their perceptions of engineering. In total, 146 middle school students participated in this study. Eighty-six students participated in the Type I lesson (complete engineering design lesson with a science knowledge application) and 60 students participated in the Type II lesson (engineering design without a science knowledge application). Two main datasets, (1) students' Creative Engineering Problem Solving Propensity (CEPSP) measurement scores and (2) open-ended survey questions about students' perceptions of engineering, were collected before and after the lessons. The results of this study show that after participating in the Type I lesson, students' CEPSP scores significantly increased, whereas the CEPSP scores of the students who participated in the Type II lesson did not increase significantly. In addition, students who participated in the Type I lesson perceived engineering and the engineering integrated science lesson differently compared to the students who participated in the Type II lesson. The results of this study show that engineering integrated science, technology, engineering & mathematics (STEM) lessons should include a complete engineering design and a science knowledge application to improve students' engineering problem solving skills.

The Biphasic Effect of Retinoic Acid Signaling Pathway on the Biased Differentiation of Atrial-like and Sinoatrial Node-like Cells from hiPSC

  • Feng Liu;Dandan Long;Wenjun Huang;Wanling Peng;Huan Lan;Yafei Zhou;Xitong Dang;Rui Zhou
    • International Journal of Stem Cells
    • /
    • v.15 no.3
    • /
    • pp.247-257
    • /
    • 2022
  • Background and Objectives: Although human-induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSC) can be efficiently differentiated into cardiomyocytes (CMs), the heterogeneity of the hiPSC-CMs hampers their applications in research and regenerative medicine. Retinoic acid (RA)-mediated signaling pathway has been proved indispensable in cardiac development and differentiation of hiPSC toward atrial CMs. This study was aimed to test whether RA signaling pathway can be manipulated to direct the differentiation into sinoatrial node (SAN) CMs. Methods and Results: Using the well-characterized GiWi protocol that cardiomyocytes are generated from hiPSC via temporal modulation of Wnt signaling pathway by small molecules, RA signaling pathway was manipulated during the differentiation of hiPSC-CMs on day 5 post-differentiation, a crucial time point equivalent to the transition from cardiac mesoderm to cardiac progenitor cells in cardiac development. The resultant CMs were characterized at mRNA, protein and electrophysiology levels by a combination of qPCR, immunofluorescence, flow cytometry, and whole-cell patch clamp. The results showed that activation of the RA signaling pathway biased the differentiation of atrial CMs, whereas inhibition of the signaling pathway biased the differentiation of sinoatrial node-like cells (SANLCs). Conclusions: Our study not only provides a novel and simple strategy to enrich SANLCs but also improves our understanding of the importance of RA signaling in the differentiation of hiPSC-CMs.

Design and Implementation of IoT based Low cost, Effective Learning Mechanism for Empowering STEM Education in India

  • Simmi Chawla;Parul Tomar;Sapna Gambhir
    • International Journal of Computer Science & Network Security
    • /
    • v.24 no.4
    • /
    • pp.163-169
    • /
    • 2024
  • India is a developing nation and has come with comprehensive way in modernizing its reducing poverty, economy and rising living standards for an outsized fragment of its residents. The STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education plays an important role in it. STEM is an educational curriculum that emphasis on the subjects of "science, technology, engineering, and mathematics". In traditional education scenario, these subjects are taught independently, but according to the educational philosophy of STEM that teaches these subjects together in project-based lessons. STEM helps the students in his holistic development. Youth unemployment is the biggest concern due to lack of adequate skills. There is a huge skill gap behind jobless engineers and the question arises how we can prepare engineers for a better tomorrow? Now a day's Industry 4.0 is a new fourth industrial revolution which is an intelligent networking of machines and processes for industry through ICT. It is based upon the usage of cyber-physical systems and Internet of Things (IoT). Industrial revolution does not influence only production but also educational system as well. IoT in academics is a new revolution to the Internet technology, which introduced "Smartness" in the entire IT infrastructure. To improve socio-economic status of the India students must equipped with 21st century digital skills and Universities, colleges must provide individual learning kits to their students which can help them in enhancing their productivity and learning outcomes. The major goal of this paper is to present a low cost, effective learning mechanism for STEM implementation using Raspberry Pi 3+ model (Single board computer) and Node Red open source visual programming tool which is developed by IBM for wiring hardware devices together. These tools are broadly used to provide hands on experience on IoT fundamentals during teaching and learning. This paper elaborates the appropriateness and the practicality of these concepts via an example by implementing a user interface (UI) and Dashboard in Node-RED where dashboard palette is used for demonstration with switch, slider, gauge and Raspberry pi palette is used to connect with GPIO pins present on Raspberry pi board. An LED light is connected with a GPIO pin as an output pin. In this experiment, it is shown that the Node-Red dashboard is accessing on Raspberry pi and via Smartphone as well. In the final step results are shown in an elaborate manner. Conversely, inadequate Programming skills in students are the biggest challenge because without good programming skills there would be no pioneers in engineering, robotics and other areas. Coding plays an important role to increase the level of knowledge on a wide scale and to encourage the interest of students in coding. Today Python language which is Open source and most demanding languages in the industry in order to know data science and algorithms, understanding computer science would not be possible without science, technology, engineering and math. In this paper a small experiment is also done with an LED light via writing source code in python. These tiny experiments are really helpful to encourage the students and give play way to learn these advance technologies. The cost estimation is presented in tabular form for per learning kit provided to the students for Hands on experiments. Some Popular In addition, some Open source tools for experimenting with IoT Technology are described. Students can enrich their knowledge by doing lots of experiments with these freely available software's and this low cost hardware in labs or learning kits provided to them.

Upregulation of miR-23b Enhances the Autologous Therapeutic Potential for Degenerative Arthritis by Targeting PRKACB in Synovial Fluid-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells from Patients

  • Ham, Onju;Lee, Chang Youn;Song, Byeong-Wook;Lee, Se-Yeon;Kim, Ran;Park, Jun-Hee;Lee, Jiyun;Seo, Hyang-Hee;Lee, Chae Yoon;Chung, Yong-An;Maeng, Lee-So;Lee, Min Young;Kim, Jongmin;Hwang, Jihwan;Woo, Dong Kyun;Chang, Woochul
    • Molecules and Cells
    • /
    • v.37 no.6
    • /
    • pp.449-456
    • /
    • 2014
  • The use of synovial fluid-derived mesenchymal stem cells (SFMSCs) obtained from patients with degenerative arthropathy may serve as an alternative therapeutic strategy in osteoarthritis (OA) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA). For treatment of OA and RA patients, autologous transplantation of differentiated MSCs has several beneficial effects for cartilage regeneration including immunomodulatory activity. In this study, we induced chondrogenic differentiation of SFMSCs by inhibiting protein kinase A (PKA) with a small molecule and microRNA (miRNA). Chondrogenic differentiation was confirmed by PCR and immunocytochemistry using probes specific for aggrecan, the major cartilaginous proteoglycan gene. Absorbance of alcian blue stain to detect chondrogenic differentiation was increased in H-89 and/or miRNA-23b-transfected cells. Furthermore, expression of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-9 and MMP-2 was decreased in treated1 cells. Therefore, differentiation of SFMSCs into chondrocytes through inhibition of PKA signaling may be a therapeutic option for OA or RA patients.

Ginsenoside Rg1 Induces Apoptosis through Inhibition of the EpoR-Mediated JAK2/STAT5 Signalling Pathway in the TF-1/Epo Human Leukemia Cell Line

  • Li, Jing;Wei, Qiang;Zuo, Guo-Wei;Xia, Jing;You, Zhi-Mei;Li, Chun-Li;Chen, Di-Long
    • Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
    • /
    • v.15 no.6
    • /
    • pp.2453-2459
    • /
    • 2014
  • Ginsenoside Rg1 is one effective anticancer and antioxidant constituent of total saponins of Panax ginseng (TSPG), which has been shown to have various pharmacological effects. Our previous study demonstrated that Rg1 had anti-tumor activity in K562 leukemia cells. The aim of this study was designed to investigate whether Rg1 could induce apoptosis in TF-1/Epo cells and further to explore the underlying molecular mechanisms. Here we found that Rg1 could inhibit TF-1/Epo cell proliferation and induce cell apoptosis in vitro in a concentration and time dependent manner. It also suppressed the expression of EpoR on the surface membrane and inhibited JAK2/STAT5 pathway activity. Rg1 induced up-regulation of Bax, cleaved caspase-3 and C-PAPR protein and down-regulation of Bcl-2 and AG490, a JAK2 specific inhibitor, could enhance the effects of Rg1. Our studies showed that EpoR-mediated JAK2/STAT5 signaling played a key role in Rg1-induced apoptosis in TF-1/Epo cells. These results may provide new insights of Rg1 protective roles in the prevention a nd treatment of leukemia.

Autonomy and Job Satisfaction of the Nurses in the Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation Ward (조혈모세포이식병동 간호사의 자율성과 직무만족도)

  • Jung, Hyun-Ok;Chae, Kyung-Mi
    • Journal of Digital Convergence
    • /
    • v.16 no.3
    • /
    • pp.363-373
    • /
    • 2018
  • The purpose of this study was investigates the Autonomy and job satisfaction of the nurses in the hematopoietic stem cell transplantation ward. The data was collected by distributing structured questionnaires to 79 nurses at the hematopoietic stem cell transplantation ward at 7 university hospitals in D, B and U Metropolitan cites, from May 20 to June 4, 2013 and analyzed by t-test, ANOVA, Pearson correlation coefficient. The average autonomy level of nursing professionals was $165.47{\pm}19.56points$. The average nurse's job satisfaction was $3.15{\pm}0.35points$. The correlation between autonomy and nurse's job satisfaction showed to be not correlated. The correlation between autonomy and nurse's job satisfaction of the autonomy category(r=.273) and human interaction category(r=.257) showed to be correlated. It is necessary to developed education and policy programs for nurse's autonomy and nurse's job satisfaction at the hematopoietic stem cell transplantation ward.

Changes in resource allocation among vegetative organs during the clonal growth of Polygonatum humile (Liliaceae) grown in a temperate forest gap

  • Min, Byeong-Mee
    • Journal of Ecology and Environment
    • /
    • v.41 no.9
    • /
    • pp.246-255
    • /
    • 2017
  • Background: The aim of this study was to examine the resource allocation among the organs and the leaf morphology of Polygonatum humile. The data were collected from June 2014 to May 2015 in a natural P. humile stand of a temperate forest gap. Results: The dry weight of new rhizome ($R_0$) sharply decreased to the time of new shoot sprouting in next year and was constant for 2 ~ 3 years. However, dry weight of root on $R_0$ increased to the end of growth season and, thereafter, decreased slowly along the time elapsed. The correlation coefficients between the rhizome and the leaf sizes were 0.5 for the last year's rhizome ($R_1$) and 0.6 for $R_0$ and were significant at 0.1% level for $R_0$. The increase of one leaf a plant led to increase of the total leaf area, total leaf weight, and stem length. Moreover, the organ sizes' differences between two plants of the one leaf difference were almost significant at 1% level. In 11-leaf plant, the leaf length/width ratio and specific lea area increased to the second, relative leaf area to the fourth and relative leaf dry weight to the fifth, and thereafter, decreased to the last leaf. The differences in the values of these four parameters between two leaves on a stem were almost significant at 5% level. Conclusion: P. humile examined showed the close relationships between the last year's rhizome or this year's one and the shoot system (leaf and stem) sizes. The leaf number a shoot greatly influenced specific leaf area. P. humile's leaf might showed diverse morphology with leaf rank on a stem in a forest gap environment.

An Instructional Design for the Converged English-Science Teaching Method using PBL Model in Elementary School (PBL 모형을 적용한 초등학교 영어·과학 융합 수업 모델 설계)

  • Park, In-Hwa
    • Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
    • /
    • v.21 no.7
    • /
    • pp.66-72
    • /
    • 2020
  • In order to cultivate talented people with national economic influence in the rapidly changing 21st- century modern society, STEM(Science Technology Engineering Mathematics) education has been emphasized in advanced countries such as America and England. In South Korea, STEAM(Science Technology Engineering Arts Mathematics) education is emphasized by adding Arts. The objective of STEAM education is to strengthen the interest and motivation of learners, to focus on experience, exploration, experimentation, to solve convergent thinking and real-life problems, rather than cramming method of teaching and memorization. This study identifiesan instructional design for converged English, the world's official language, and science which is found in nearly all disciplines. With the development of the 4th industrial revolution based on the PBL model, learners participate in their lessons voluntarily for problem-solving skills. The instructional design based on the ADDIE model consists of 5 procedures: Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, and Evaluation. The goal of fostering talented people with national economic influence is also important, and the teacher in education must recognize the importance of STEAM education and an appropriate instructional design should be studied constantly.

Spatial Ability and Mathematical Achievement of Elementary School Students (초등학생의 공간시각화능력 및 수학성취도에 관한 연구)

  • Park, Sungsun
    • Education of Primary School Mathematics
    • /
    • v.16 no.3
    • /
    • pp.303-313
    • /
    • 2013
  • Spatial ability has been valued as one component of intelligence and associated with the achievements in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines and important in STEM education. The purpose of this study is to assess elementary school students' spatial ability and analyze the relationship with mathematical achievement, gender and grade level. This study explored the spatial visualization ability of 1288 elementary school students (grade 4-6) in Seoul and Gangwon province and investigated association between spatial ability and students' mathematics achievement, the students' spatial ability according to their gender and grade level. As a result, this study showed that there were significant correlations between spatial ability and mathematical achievement. And also, boy students were better than girl students in spatial ability and higher grader were better than lower graders in spatial ability. According to these results, spatial ability should be included as one of the important components in identifying students for gifted education programs. Furthermore, more research is needed on how to effectively structure educational opportunities to students both who have high spatial ability and have low spatial ability.

Constructing Convergence Knowledge on Velocity with Family Resemblance Approach (가족 유사성 접근법을 적용한 물체의 빠르기 주제의 융합지식 구성 연구)

  • Lee, Sooah;Jhun, Youngseok
    • Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
    • /
    • v.37 no.2
    • /
    • pp.188-205
    • /
    • 2018
  • For STEM education science teachers usually choose topics which are related to both science and other disciplinary contents. Nevertheless it is not clear for the teachers to adopt what kind of criteria for their choices. Interdisciplinary teaching is not a mixture of science content with another one from different disciplines as resources for the content teaching. Instead the criteria and perspectives for the integration need to be clearly defined. In this study we investigated how to integrate science and other disciplines in terms of interdisciplinary teaching. Family resemblance approach by Wittgenstein, recently revised by Erduran and Dagher, was applied to comparative analysis of science, math, and physical education curriculum documents in Korea. Aim and value, methodological rules and methods, knowledge, and activities in each discipline were compared and analyzed with the view of FRA. Results of the study described alternative criteria of how to find appropriate topics for interdisciplinary teaching.