Contemporary Classics? The Early Onset of Influence of Articles Published in Criminology and Criminal Justice Journals, 2010–2015

Citation analysis is a valuable method for tracking the growth and transmission of scientific knowledge. In criminology and criminal justice, such analyses tend to be focused on “classic” works or on highly cited scholars over many years. As an alternative approach, we focus on work that has been cited rather quickly – what we term the “early onset” of impact. In doing so, we identified 221 of the most highly cited peer-reviewed articles, authored by 480 scholars, which were published in criminology and criminal justice journals between 2010 and 2015. Analyses reveal wide variation in substantive topics and methodological approaches, as well as a substantial gender gap with respect to authorship. Additional analyses provide insight into both journal and institutional/program prestige. We conclude with directions for future research and stress the importance of tracking over time articles that appear to be off to an early start with respect to scholarly impact.     

The Effect Teaching Experience Has on Perceived Effectiveness of Interactive Television as a Distance Education Model for Elementary School Science Teacher’s Professional Development: Another Digital Divide?

The first year of a 5 year professional development project for elementary teachers in two mid-western states integrated a bridge of two distinctly different distance education networks (T-1 and fiber optics) to provide science professional development for elementary school teachers in rural communities. Interactive television (ITV), the title given to the distance component, consisted of a series of twenty-four, 2 h presentations by scientists and content specialists. It provided expansion to the science pedagogical content knowledge of the elementary teachers involved. Eighty-five teachers in 38 school districts from the two states completed individual surveys following the final ITV session. Analysis of variance of participants post-session survey scores yielded differences (p < 0.05) on the subscales measuring perceived effectiveness of using distance education for professional development purposes and years of teaching experience. Teachers with over 20 years of classroom experience perceived the use of distance education technologies for science professional development to be more effective than teachers with 16–20 years of classroom experience. These results might suggest another digital divide.     

The Concepts of Heat and Temperature: The Problem of Determining the Content for the Construction of an Historical Case Study which is Sensitive to Nature of Science Issues and Teaching–Learning Issues

Historical case studies of scientific concepts are a useful medium for showing how scientific ideas originate and how they change over time. They are thus a useful tool for conveying knowledge about the nature of science. This paper focuses on the concepts of heat and temperature and discusses some issues related to choosing the content for a historical case study which incorporates not only nature of science perspectives but understandings related to what we know about the teaching and learning of these concepts. The case study is designed for first-year university chemistry students as an introduction to their study of thermodynamics. The paper includes a general chemistry textbook analysis of the heat and temperature concepts and a discussion of the caloric theory of heat, thermometry, and a brief survey of how the energy concept transformed our understanding of heat and temperature.     

Understanding the Nature of Scientific Enterprise (NOSE) through a Discourse with Its History: The Influence of an Undergraduate ‘History of Science’ Course

An appropriate understanding of the nature of the scientific enterprise (NOSE) is a key element of scientific literacy and can arguably be influenced through an exploration of the history of science. An elective, undergraduate History of Science course was organized in the form of small-group discussion-based inquiries into the history of science from ancient to modern times. Group discussions focused on STATEMENTS OF CRITICAL SIGNIFICANCE (SOCS) prepared by individual students on assigned readings prior to each class meeting. Small-group discussions were followed by a synthesis, facilitated by the instructor, of points raised in SOCS and other ideas central to the reading. The overarching goal of these activities was to help students see the multifaceted nature of the scientific enterprise in the context of social, political, cultural, and religious milieu of the time period and the geographic setting within which specific scientific activities and developments took place. The impact of this course on student understanding of the NOSE was assessed through the use of VIEWS ON SCIENCE-TECHNOLOGY-SOCIETY (VOSTS) instrument administered as pre- and post-test. Qualitative data regarding student understanding of the NOSE were furnished by the final exam on the NOSE written in the form of SOCS at the end of semester. Results based on four semesters of the course offering indicate modest gains in student understanding of specific aspects of the NOSE. They are discussed, along with the usefulness of small-group, discussion-based inquiries into the history of science as a way of enhancing scientific literacy during undergraduate science education.     

The Experiences and Personal Religious Beliefs of Egyptian Science Teachers as a Framework for Understanding the Shaping and Reshaping of their Beliefs and Practices about Science‐Technology‐Society (STS)

This research investigates the role of experience in relation to teachers’ beliefs and practices. The study adopted a social‐cultural constructivist perspective using an interpretive approach. The research was guided by teachers’ interpretations of their experiences related to teaching science through Science‐Technology‐Society (STS) issues. These interpretations are re‐interpreted to find meaningful conceptual categories (grounded in the data) from which to build a model to understand the influence of experiences within socio‐Islamic culture on teachers’ beliefs and practices. Data was collected from ten teachers using interviews and observations. The findings of this study suggest that it was mainly teachers’ personal religious beliefs and experiences that shaped their beliefs and practices. The research also led to a model, constructed on the basis of the data analysis, which suggests an explanation of how teachers’ personal religious beliefs and experiences influence their beliefs and practices.