http://syndicate.missouri.edu/articles Tue, 28 Nov 2006 15:45:25 GMT Connecting you with the University of Missouri’s innovative research and creative activity http://syndicate.missouri.edu/articles/show/42 Professor David Jonassen humbly sidesteps the grander importance of his research, yet his work would appear to have very serious and broad-reaching implications for educational systems and seems to call out for educational reform. As a professor in the area of educational psychology, Jonassen’s past research has focused on designing constructivist learning environments, cognitive tools for learning (Mindtools), cognitive modeling/task analysis, and systems dynamics/modeling. Most recently, his attention has moved toward issues of problem-solving. To this end, he has begun working in the context of engineering education for obvious reasons—because engineering students are specifically trained (and will be eventually hired) to solve problems. The types of problems engineers encounter on the job, like those people encounter in everyday life, are relatively “ill-structured” ones—that is, they don’t necessarily have a correct solution, a well-defined method for finding a solution, or even well-established criteria for what determines a successful solution. Tue, 28 Nov 2006 15:45:25 GMT http://syndicate.missouri.edu/articles/show/42 (LuAnne Roth) http://syndicate.missouri.edu/articles/show/45 Meera Chandrasekhar, Professor of Physics at MU, describes herself as "a condensed matter experimentalist," that is, a physicist who studies a class of materials called condensed matter systems (formerly known as "solids"). Within this class are three types of materials: insulators (Styrofoam, plastic, and rubber), which do not allow electricity to flow; conductors (metals), which do allow electricity to flow; and semiconductors, which "have conductivities in between that of insulators and conductors." Chandrasekhar has spent most of her research career seeking to understand the special properties of this "in between" class of materials, and she speaks lovingly about how these semiconductors are unusual by virtue of their limited electrical conductivity and their particular response to light. Mon, 19 Feb 2007 16:06:49 GMT http://syndicate.missouri.edu/articles/show/45 (LuAnne Roth) http://syndicate.missouri.edu/articles/show/66 We began this interview with the intent of focusing, as we usually do, on one person’s research. However, this query soon became—like the collaborative work it highlights—a joint project involving James R. Koller and Karen Weston of the Department of Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology in the College of Education, two individuals working together to “think outside the box” by creating the Center for the Advancement of Mental Health Practices in the Schools, now affectionately called “the Center” by its members. “The Center was created in response to the rising number of students in need of mental health services today,” states its homepage. It was initiated “as a paradigm shift that recognizes prevention as a fundamental element in supporting our nation’s youth facing developmental challenges, psycho-social issues, and environmental stressors within the school system and community . . . with the whole thrust being a paradigmatic shift from mental illness to mental health.” Of course, “you’re never going to get away from mental illness,” admits Koller, “but instead of waiting until pathology occurs, the question posed to me was how we can do something different. How can we better prepare consumers at all levels to be better informed so that we can create a positive learning environment for each learner and increase her or his self-concept, while academic learning flourishes?” Tue, 13 Nov 2007 06:00:00 GMT http://syndicate.missouri.edu/articles/show/66 (LuAnne Roth) http://syndicate.missouri.edu/articles/show/73 So-Yeon Yoon admits that while she has always liked computer games, even as a young child, she has also always enjoyed painting and drawing. Yoon describes her watercolor paintings and how for her the creative process is “very addictive”: “I like colors and creating something beautiful, and creating things on the computer actually gives the same kind of fulfillment.” She is attracted to three-dimensional (3-D) images and experimenting with different textures and colors. Thus it is perhaps no surprise that Yoon found herself drawn to the field of architecture and interior design—“a perfect match” in which her creative desires and her interest in computers could merge. Today, the assistant professor of Architectural Studies focuses her research and teaching on the areas of Human Environmental Psychology and Interior and Architectural Design. Her current research combines information technology with interior design and architecture, a composite field in which she applies technology, particularly virtual reality (VR), to interior design problems. Wed, 19 Mar 2008 05:00:00 GMT http://syndicate.missouri.edu/articles/show/73 (LuAnne Roth)