Michael Nussbaum | University of Nevada, Las Vegas (original) (raw)

Papers by Michael Nussbaum

Categorical and Nonparametric Data Analysis, 2014

Routledge eBooks, Dec 19, 2022

Computer Supported Collaborative Learning, 2013

Losing the Lake is an educational simulation game exploring the impact of climate change on decli... more Losing the Lake is an educational simulation game exploring the impact of climate change on declining water levels in Lake Mead. This paper briefly describes the game and explores options for incorporating collaborative argumentation into the next iteration, including several technological options. We explain how Walton's argumentation framework is useful in generating critical questions for collaborative argumentation on many topics related to climate change and water resource management. This paper reports on a design project, Losing the Lake, and efforts to incorporate collaborative argumentation into the learning environment. Losing the Lake is a computer-based educational resource designed to teach students about climate change and its effects on the local environment. Research suggests that many students harbor a number of misconceptions about human-induced climate change (Nussbaum, Sinatra, & Owens, 2011) due to the complexity of the phenomenon across multiple time and spatial scales, but teaching about the issue in the context of a concrete, local phenomenon aids student understanding and engagement with this issue (Moser & Diller, 2007). The phenomenon focused on in this project is the rapidly declining water levels in Lake Mead, which have been caused by an extended drought in the Rocky Mountain snowpack. This drought will be made worse by climate change.

Journal of Education for Sustainable Development, Feb 2, 2016

This study examines the interaction of political orientation with academic discipline on beliefs ... more This study examines the interaction of political orientation with academic discipline on beliefs in anthropogenic climate change (ACC) among higher education faculty. Over 300 faculty members at two research institutions in the United States were surveyed on topics concerning ACC and the results were analyzed with multiple regression. Even among professors, there was a strong relationship between political orientation (liberal versus conservative) and belief in ACC; however, the relationship was substantially attenuated among professors who taught courses in liberal arts and education. On the other hand, the relationship between political orientation and ACC belief was much stronger among faculty teaching business and hotel management, compared to faculty teaching other subjects. Finally, there was a main positive effect for teaching science. The results suggest that outreach efforts to encourage more faculty to include climate change relevant information in their courses might give high priority to faculty in liberal arts and education.

Educational Psychologist, Nov 19, 2020

Collaborative argumentation in education, where students work together to construct and critique ... more Collaborative argumentation in education, where students work together to construct and critique arguments, is an important social practice in many disciplines and can also develop conceptual understanding. This article addresses the evolution of my research agenda on collaborative argumentation from just scaffolding the generation of counterarguments and rebuttals in students' discourse toward what I call critical, integrative argumentation (CIA). The CIA framework involves teaching students to ask critical questions to assess the strength and cogency of arguments. It also involves generating, in addition to conventional refutations, integrative refutations that (a) weigh costs and benefits (or for scientific arguments, the evidence for and plausibility of alternative models), or (b) involve design arguments (or for scientific arguments, the integration of multiple factors and constraints). Issues related to terminology, instruction, student learning progressions, teachers' professional learning, public discourse, and the need to teach complex, critical thinking to students are discussed.

American Educational Research Journal, Sep 1, 1995

This study is second in a series demonstrating that achievement tests are multidimensional and th... more This study is second in a series demonstrating that achievement tests are multidimensional and that using psychologically meaningful subscores in national educational surveys can enhance test validity and usefulness. National Education Longitudinal Study 1988 (NELS:88) 8th-and 10th-grade science tests were subjected to full information item factor analysis. Factors reflecting everyday knowledge, scientific reasoning, chemistry knowledge, and reasoning with knowledge were obtained in 8th grade. Quantitative science, spatial-mechanical, and basic knowledge and reasoning were distinguishable factors in 10th grade. Regression analyses showed that different patterns of prior math and science achievement, and of course taking, were associated with each 10th-grade science factor. Teacher emphasis on problem solving and understanding related more to quantitative science and basic knowledge and reasoning. Spatial-mechanical reasoning showed the strongest gender and ethnicity effects; it related also to science museum visits, but not to instructional variables. It is recommended that multidimensional achievement scores be used to capture student and teacher effects that total scores alone miss. Nine tables illustrate the analysis. (Contains 5 references.) (SLD)

Routledge eBooks, Jul 29, 2014

1. Levels of Measurement, Probability, and the Binomial Formula 2. Estimation and Hypothesis Test... more 1. Levels of Measurement, Probability, and the Binomial Formula 2. Estimation and Hypothesis Testing 3. Random Variables and Probability Distributions 4. Contingency Tables: The Chi-Square Test and Associated Effect Sizes 5. Contingency Tables: Special Situations 6. Basic Nonparametric Tests for Ordinal Data 7. Nonparametric Tests for Multiple or Related Samples 8. Advanced Rank Tests (for Interactions and Robust ANOVA) 9. Linear Regression and Generalized Linear Models 10. Binary Logistic Regression 11. Multinomial Logistic, Ordinal, & Poisson Regression 12. Loglinear Analysis 13. General Estimating Equations 14. Estimation Procedures 15. Choosing the Best Statistical Technique. Answers to Odd Numbered Problems

Journal of geoscience education, Mar 14, 2017

Refutation texts, which are texts that rebut scientific misconceptions and explain the normative ... more Refutation texts, which are texts that rebut scientific misconceptions and explain the normative concept, can be effective devices for addressing misconceptions and affecting conceptual change. However, few, if any, refutation texts specifically related to climate change have been validated for effectiveness. In this project, we developed and tested three refutation texts related to climate change. The three texts, which are freely available for other educators and researchers to use, relate to (1) the enhanced greenhouse effect, (2) the distinction between climate and weather, and (3) the nature of ozone depletion and how it is not a major contributor to global warming. Participants in the study consisted of 146 undergraduates enrolled in various educational psychology courses. They were randomly divided into experimental and control groups. All participants completed a knowledge pretest, posttest, and delayed (2 wk) posttest. Experimental-group participants read one of the refutation texts, whereas control subjects read an unrelated text. Based on repeated-measures ANOVAs, results indicated that the refutation texts were generally effective in increasing knowledge and addressing the misconceptions that they were designed to address, although results were mixed for the weather versus climate text. Furthermore, there was little regression at the delayed posttest, except for the weather versus climate text (understanding that climate is usually measured over a 30-y period) and for global warming being unrelated to skin cancer. The importance of combining these texts with other instructional activities and simulations is discussed.

Opinions on an anthropogenic influence in global warming abound. Opinions on an anthropogenic inf... more Opinions on an anthropogenic influence in global warming abound. Opinions on an anthropogenic influence in global warming abound. Within the non Within the non-scientific public, the strength of one scientific public, the strength of one' 's opinion commonly • • Media providing 'balance' in media Media providing 'balance' in media coverage at the expense of accuracy coverage at the expense of accuracy

Dialogic Pedagogy, May 2, 2023

This article explores the relationship between argumentation theory and dialogic pedagogy. Argume... more This article explores the relationship between argumentation theory and dialogic pedagogy. Arguments made in everyday discourse tend to be enthymematic, i.e., containing implicit premises. Thus, dialogue is often necessary to uncover hidden assumptions. Furthermore, evaluating logical arguments involves dialectical and dialogic processes. We articulate the role of critical questions in this process and present the Critical Questions Model of Argument Assessment (CQMAA) as a (mostly) comprehensive framework for evaluating arguments. Students can be taught to ask and discuss these critical questions. Yet to facilitate and sustain discussion of these questions, teachers need additional tools drawn from dialogic pedagogy. We draw on Robin Alexander's conceptual framework for this purpose as well as Michaels and O'Connor's work on Academically Productive Talk. Alexander's framework includes six pedagogical principles and eight repertoires of talk. We focus specifically on teacher and student talk moves and propose that critical questions should be considered an important subset of productive talk moves that can bring rigor and purpose to classroom argumentation. Other talk moves are also needed to help students construct arguments, listen and engage with one another, and help sustain discussion of the critical questions. The CQMAA provides both a theoretical and practical link between (1) logical analysis and critique and (2) dialogic teaching.

ICLS, 2014

Statistically analyzing small-group discourse in CSCL requires controlling for statistical depend... more Statistically analyzing small-group discourse in CSCL requires controlling for statistical dependencies among group members that arise from the fact that group members influence one another's behaviors. Although some researchers in the learning sciences have addressed this problem by using multilevel modeling, that approach requires large group sizes. This poster presents an alternative approach, known as General Estimating Equations (GEE), which is more suitable when small groups such as dyads or triads are analyzed.

E-Learn: World Conference on E-Learning in Corporate, Government, Healthcare, and Higher Education, Nov 14, 2016

The Journal of Interactive Learning Research, 2017