— Hawai‘i Educational Research Association —

with support from the
Curriculum Research & Development Group
and the

Hawai‘i Chapter of Phi Delta Kappa
presents the

28th Annual

HERA Conference

Saturday, March 4, 2006
University of Hawai‘i at Manoa Campus Center Ballroom
Featuring Two Keynote Presentations, Symposia & Papers
including the
2006 HERA Distinguished Paper Award Winner


Investigating Difficult Science and Engineering Concepts

Some concepts in science and engineering are notoriously difficult for students to understand. For example, the difference between heat and temperature is misunderstood by middle school students and continues to be misunderstood by advanced engineering undergraduates. The puzzle of why some concepts are so robustly and persistently misunderstood has provided the motivation for interdisciplinary research projects involving cognitive psychologists, educational psychologists, and engineers. In her presentation, Dr. Ruth Streveler discusses this line of research investigating difficult concepts in engineering that she is pursuing with her engineering colleagues at the Colorado School of Mines in cooperation with eminent psychologist Michelene Chi and her former student Jim Slotta.

Specifically, the studies she will discuss address the following research questions:
•  What fundamental concepts in Science and Engineering are difficult for students to understand?
•  How can one reliably and validly measure students' understanding of these difficult concepts?
•  Why are these concepts so difficult to understand?
•  How can one help students better understand these concepts?

Ruth Streveler is Director of the Center for Engineering Education at Colorado School of Mines. Her research interests are identifying potential misconceptions, metacognition, self-regulated learning, organization of knowledge, and novice-expert differences. She graduated from the University of Hawai ‘i in Educational Psychology.

Education as an Enabler of Technological Innovation
Multicultural Experiences in the World's Healthcare Systems

Healthcare and clinical science may be the world's most education-intense enterprises. Progress in technology improvement depends to a large degree on the preparedness of health workers, health administrators, and government regulators to accept computerization. While (almost) all governments feign interest in employing technology to improve access, equity, efficiency and quality, few know how to approach the gargantuan task. In his presentation, Dr. Dennis Streveler will look at nations around the world, rich and poor, east and west, progressive and authoritarian, and attempt to propose a common framework for their approach to computer literacy education.

Dennis J. Streveler received his PhD in Medical Information Science at the University of California , San Francisco in 1990. He is a Health Management Information Systems consultant to the World Bank. In that capacity he has worked, at the invitation of the host governments, in some 67 countries around the globe regarding issues related to medical informatics and education. In 2005 he worked in Kazakhstan , Kyrgyz Republic , Albania , Saudi Arabia , Lebanon , China , Egypt , Turkey , and Mongolia . In addition, he is a professor of medical informatics in the Department of Information and Computer Sciences at the University of Hawai ‘i.


— Hawai‘i Educational Research Association —

Program

28th Annual Conference • Saturday, March 4, 2006
University of Hawai‘i at Manoa • Campus Center Ballroom




8:00 – 8:30
Registration and Refreshments (Ballroom C)

8:30 – 9:45
Plenary Session (Ballroom B)
 

Welcome
Introduction of Conference Sponsors
     HERA Officers and Board of Directors
     CRDG and PDK representatives
Announcements
     2003 Distinguished Paper Award Presentation
     Pacific Educational Research Journal

Keynote Address: Investigating Difficult Science and Engineering Concepts
Ruth Streveler, Director of the Center for Engineering Education
Colorado School of Mines

9:45 – 10:00
Refreshment Break

10:00 – 10:50
Session I for Papers and Symposia (Rooms 306–310 and Ballroom B)

10:50 – 11:10
Break

11:10 – 12:00
Session II for Papers and Symposia (Rooms 306–310 and Ballroom B)

12:00 – 12:30
Lunch (Ballroom A)

 12:30 – 1:30
Keynote Address: Education as an Enabler of Technological Innovation
Dennis J. Streveler, Lead Health Management Information
Systems Consultant to the World Bank

1:30 – 2:00
HERA Membership Meeting (Ballroom B)
     Election of Officers


Conference Fees:
$30 (Members*) $45 (Nonmembers)
(*Members of HERA or PDK)


Conference fees include refreshments and lunch, if received before our lunch reservation deadline of February 24th. Registration at the door carries no guarantee of lunch. All-day parking on campus is $3. For more information call
Kathleen Berg 956-4952 or Martha Crosby 956-3500.