Mapping undergraduate chemistry students' epistemic ideas about models and modeling

Developing and using scientific models is an important scientific practice for science students. Undergraduate chemistry curricula are often centered on established disciplinary models, and assessments typically provide students with opportunities to use these models to predict and explain chemical phenomena. However, traditional curricula generally provide few opportunities for students to consider the epistemic nature of models and the process of modeling. To gain a sense of how introductory chemistry students understand model changeability, model multiplicity, the evaluation of models, and the process of modeling, we use a construct-mapping approach to characterize the sophistication of students' epistemic knowledge of models and modeling. We present a set of four related construct maps that we developed based on the work of other scholars and empirically validated in an undergraduate introductory chemistry setting. We use the construct maps to identify themes in students' responses to an open-ended survey instrument, the models in chemistry survey, and discuss the implications for teaching.     

Beyond “what works”: A mixed-methods study of intervention effect modifiers in the Good Behavior Game

This mixed-methods study examines two moderators of the impact of the Good Behavior Game—implementation variability, participant risk status, and the interaction between them—as predictors of behavioral and academic outcomes. Quantitative data from 38 primary schools were utilized, with outcome data collected at baseline and 2-year follow-up. Behavior (disruptive behavior, prosocial behavior, and concentration problems) was assessed via the Teacher Observation of Classroom Adaptation Checklist. Reading attainment was assessed via national teacher assessment scores, and the Hodder Group Reading Test. Implementation fidelity/quality data were collected via independent observations. Participant risk status was modeled using a cumulative risk index. Multilevel modeling revealed that higher levels of fidelity/quality were associated with improved overall reading scores (d = 0.203–225), but worsening disruptive behavior among high-risk students (d = 0.560). Thematic analysis of qualitative interview data collected from 20 teachers identified six groups of at-risk students who were perceived to experience differential effects, and five key mechanisms underpinning these.     

Predicting reading growth with event-related potentials: Thinking differently about indexing “Responsiveness”

The purpose of this study was to determine if event-related potential (ERP) data collected during three reading-related tasks (Letter Sound Matching, Nonword Rhyming, and Nonword Reading) could be used to predict short-term reading growth on a curriculum-based measure of word identification fluency over 19 weeks in a sample of 29 first-grade children. Results indicate that ERP responses to the Letter Sound Matching task were predictive of reading change and remained so after controlling for two previously validated behavioral predictors of reading, Rapid Letter Naming and Segmenting. ERP data for the other tasks were not correlated with reading change. The potential for cognitive neuroscience to enhance current methods of indexing responsiveness in a response-to-intervention (RTI) model is discussed.     

Reading in English as a First or Second Language: The Case of Grade 3 Spanish,Portuguese, and English Speakers

This study compared variables related to reading ability in Grade 3 students learning English as a first language (L1) and second language (L2). The students learning English as an L2 came from diverse backgrounds, with different levels of bilingualism in Spanish and English or Portuguese and English before they entered school. Both within‐group and between‐group differences emerged in comparing Spanish children from two cohorts, and in comparing the Spanish group to the Portuguese and English groups. Models predicting reading comprehension found differences with respect to the contribution of receptive vocabulary, decoding, and print exposure in the L1 and L2 groups, depending on the L2 students’ bilingual language status and language acquisition experiences. Additionally, print exposure was more highly related to comprehension in the lowest performing L2 groups. Implications and future directions are discussed.     

Screen time and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity changes and displacement in adolescence: A prospective cohort study

Background: This paper determines longitudinal changes in the time Spanish adolescents devote to moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and screen media activity (SMA). Moreover, it examines the displacement hypothesis between time spent on SMA and MVPA.

Methods: A cohort of 755 adolescents participated in a prospective cohort study over a three-year period. Repeated measures ANOVA to highlight interaction effects among all variables and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) techniques were employed.

Results: Age and gender-related variations in longitudinal changes in time spent on MVPA and SMA evolved in the inverse direction (decreased on MVPA/increased on SMA) according to the ANOVA. The potential displacement between time spent on SMA and MVPA from Wave I to Wave II was analysed via SEM. The first model, estimated in the overall sample, showed no evidence for the displacement hypothesis. Subsequently, a multigroup sequence of panel models was performed and a partial displacement was observed only in boys. Hence, boys who spent more time on SMA were more likely to devote less time to MVPA three years later.

Conclusion: This study confirms the opposite trend on the time spent on MVPA and SMA over a three-year period, being clearly higher in SMA. Further SEM analyses reveal a deferred displacement hypothesis between SMA and MVPA only in boys. This partial gendered displacement may be linked to the different uses adolescents make of screen media. The incursion of new technological devices (smartphones or tablets) and their wide range of possibilities for social networking or gaming could explain this displacement     

Quantifying social skill deficits and strengths profiles in autistic youth

While social difficulties in autism are well-established, questions remain regarding whether these represent challenges in acquiring or performing such skills, reduced social strengths, or a unique distribution across these domains (i.e., social profile). This study empirically derived social profiles of 211 autistic and non-autistic youth (M_age = 13.50; Autistic N = 150; Male N = 151; 85.3% White). Assessments occurred between 2016 and 2020. Results showed that autistic youth exhibit significantly more social acquisition and performance deficits and fewer strengths than nonautistic youth (ds = −.44 to .65). Performance deficits were most—and acquisition deficits least—prominent within autistic profiles, potentially implicating longstanding theoretical models of social difficulties in autism, and supporting new, idiographic approaches for conceptualizing, assessing, and treating social challenges.     

A Mile Wide or an Inch Deep? Improving Elementary Preservice Teachers’ Science Content Knowledge Within the Context of a Science Methods Course

Since the beginning of the reform movement in science education, there has been concern that elementary teachers lack the science content knowledge (SCK) needed to engage students in authentic scientific inquiry. This study included 19 preservice elementary teachers and examined the development of their SCK within the context of a uniquely designed elementary science methods course. A project-developed science knowledge test was administered at the beginning and the end of the science methods course, before and after science content was covered concurrent with modeled pedagogy. The preservice elementary teachers had adequate knowledge of low difficulty science content on the pretest, but demonstrated improvement on moderate and difficult science content, especially on topics emphasized in the methods course. Data analyses conducted on change in SCK using analysis of variance were statistically significant and demonstrated a large effect size. Details are discussed, along with large-scale implications and recommendations for elementary science teacher education.     

Cultural transitioning of Jewish immigrants: Education, employment and integration

This paper discusses the cultural transitioning process that immigrants undergo in order to attain educational, occupational, and social integration within Canadian society. Results of this phenomenological study examining 31 Jewish immigrants from Argentina, Israel, France and the Former Soviet Union, reveal that lack of educational equivalency and lack of recognition of foreign work experience, language barriers, discrimination, insider/outsider sentiments and the structure of the community were common impediments to cultural transitioning. However, findings suggest that despite a common religious identity, immigrants’ ethnic identities and expectations lead to divergent cultural transitioning experiences.     

Using learning analytics in the Amazonas: understanding students’ behaviour in introductory programming

Tools for automatic grading programming assignments, also known as Online Judges, have been widely used to support computer science (CS) courses. Nevertheless, few studies have used these tools to acquire and analyse interaction data to better understand the students’ performance and behaviours, often due to data availability or inadequate granularity. To address this problem, we propose an Online Judge called CodeBench, which allows for fine-grained data collection of student interactions, at the level of, eg, keystrokes, number of submissions, and grades. We deployed CodeBench for 3 years (2016–18) and collected data from 2058 students from 16 introductory computer science (CS1) courses, on which we have carried out fine-grained learning analytics, towards early detection of effective/ineffective behaviours regarding learning CS concepts. Results extract clear behavioural classes of CS1 students, significantly differentiated both semantically and statistically, enabling us to better explain how student behaviours during programming have influenced learning outcomes. Finally, we also identify behaviours that can guide novice students to improve their learning performance, which can be used for interventions. We believe this work is a step forward towards enhancing Online Judges and helping teachers and students improve their CS1 teaching/learning practices.     

成功之声

网络和电子产品的蓬勃发展改变了人们生活的诸多方面,本文从音乐产品的角度阐述了这一发展对音乐的影响。所谓"仁者见仁,智者见智",大家也可谈谈自己的想法稿件可发至:angelwlj@126.com。