Making a difference for minorities: Evaluation of an educational enrichment program

A comprehensive, quantitative evaluation of an educational intervention program designed to reduce the attrition of minorities from the biological sciences was undertaken to ascertain whether such efforts adequately address the problem. Program participants had greater odds of persisting in basic math and science courses, and of graduating in biology, than did a comparison group, controlling for demographics and academic preparation. Undergraduate research greatly increased the odds of positive graduation outcomes. Program participants were also more likely to pursue graduate study than were university graduates overall. This evaluation demonstrates the value of such programs in increasing the representation of minorities in science. ? 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 41: 861‐881, 2004.     

UK data from 197 undergraduates for the Nelson Denny Reading Test

The Nelson Denny Reading Test (Brown, Fishco & Hanna, 1993) provides measures of comprehension, reading rate and vocabulary. It is widely used in research studies with high school and undergraduate students and for assessment purposes in the USA. No widely used test of this kind exists for adults in the UK. The present paper reports data from 197 undergraduates from the University of Essex on the Nelson Denny test. Analyses were carried out of the data in terms of degree type and year of study. The scores obtained with the present sample were higher than those reported in the manual of the Nelson Denny test for a subset of the standardisation sample. Possible reasons for this difference are discussed. Overall, the results suggest that the Nelson Denny test is suitable for use with UK undergraduate students.     

Research summaries for normal birth

In this column, the author presents summaries of four research studies that further support the benefits of normal birth. The topics of the studies address cord clamping of term infants, the association of multiple cesareans and placental abnormalities, induction of labor at 41 weeks, and the World Health Organization's recently released pediatric growth charts.     

Doulas as community health workers: lessons learned from a volunteer program

Doulas, women who primarily provide social support during childbirth, have been associated with a number of positive health outcomes. Because the primary model of practice for doulas is a fee-for-service model in which families privately hire a doula, many expectant women who could benefit from doula support are unable to access the service. The Doulas Care program, located in Ann Arbor, Michigan, represents one model in which doulas provide services without charge. As a result of their extended role in the community, doulas who work with the Doulas Care program have unique educational needs. Through the use of focus groups with the program's volunteer doulas, educational needs related to overcoming barriers to being a doula working in the community were identified. Recommendations for education and training are made to improve the support doulas offer as community health outreach workers.     

Understanding practitioners' characteristics and perspectives prior to the dissemination of an evidence-based intervention

OBJECTIVES: To describe the characteristics and repertoires of community practitioners serving families involved in child physical abuse that may inform training and treatment dissemination efforts. The aims are to: (a) describe the background characteristics of these clinicians; (b) document their most common intervention techniques; (c) examine clinicians' attitudes toward manualized treatment; and (d) understand the organizational climate of community agencies. METHOD: Practitioners from nine different agencies who have worked with cases in which there was child physical abuse (n=77) completed focus group discussions and three self-report questionnaires. Qualitative and quantitative analyses were conducted in tandem. RESULTS: Practitioners reported that they most often focused on family issues and employed family therapy techniques. Although treatment manuals were important, it was difficult to determine how practitioners used or would use these materials with families. An almost equal number of concerns and benefits were raised regarding using manuals in treatment. There was moderate agreement in how practitioners perceived their work environments. Age and attainment of a graduate degree were positively related to greater caring and job satisfaction, respectively, while length of time at a given agency was positively related to greater reports of emotional exhaustion on a measure of organizational climate. CONCLUSIONS: Given the promising benefits of evidence-based treatments for child abuse, it is important that researchers begin to form partnerships with community agencies that will lead to the dissemination and evaluation of effective treatment strategies.     

Pedagogical Agents as Learning Companions: The Role of Agent Competency and Type of Interaction

This study was designed to examine the effects of the competency (low vs. high) and interaction type (proactive vs. responsive) of pedagogical agents as learning companions (PALs) on learning, self-efficacy, and attitudes. Participants were 72 undergraduates in an introductory computer-literacy course who were randomly assigned to one of four treatments: Low-Proactive, Low-Responsive, High-Proactive, and High-Responsive. Results indicated a main effect for PAL competency. Students who worked with the high-competency PAL in both proactive and responsive conditions achieved higher scores in applying what they had learned and showed more positive attitudes toward the PAL. However, students who worked with the low-competency PAL reported significantly enhanced self-efficacy beliefs in the learning tasks. Also, there was a main effect far PAL interaction type. A proactive PAL had a significantly positive impact on recall. These different results on learning and motivational outcomes suggest that the competency and interaction type of a PAL should be designed according to the desired learning and motivational goals.     

Relative Importance of the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) Core Competencies—A Case Study Survey

ABSTRACT: Nearly 90% of graduating seniors from the Food Science program at Purdue University gain employment in the food industry. Ensuring the program is meeting employers' needs is one mission of our curriculum committee with input from an Industrial Advisory Board (IAB). In light of the recent outcomes-based assessment requirements outlined by IFT, feedback from our IAB members regarding the relative importance of the core competencies was needed. The objective of this study was to survey the IAB members regarding relative importance of each of the 46 core competencies. Each competency was ranked using a Likert scale from 1 = not important to 5 = very important. Statistical analysis was conducted using the Mann-Whitney nonparametric test. Significant differences (P = 0.05) were found between several of the five content categories with Success Skills scoring highest (4.35 out of 5) on relative importance followed by Applied Food Science Knowledge (4.02 out of 5). Also, significant differences (P = 0.05) were found between competencies within each content category. Overall, the results suggest that the 46 core competencies should not be given the same instructional weight within a curriculum. One option for addressing the variation in importance could be to include some planned redundancy within the curriculum for those core competencies that were ranked the highest. In addition, part of the outcomes-based assessment process should include measures of the level of competency being achieved by graduates. By considering relative importance and competency achieved by graduates, important areas for improvement can be identified.     

Increasing tootling: The effects of a peer‐monitored group contingency program on students' reports of peers' prosocial behaviors

In most educational ecologies, attention and consequences are focused on inappropriate behavior. Often students observe and report peers' antisocial behavior (i.e., tattle) and teachers investigate and consequent (i.e., punish) those behaviors. In the current study, a withdrawal design was used to investigate a corollary system. Fourth‐grade students were trained to observe and report peers' prosocial behaviors (i.e., tootle), and interdependent group contingencies and public posting were used to reinforce those reports. Although the first intervention phase showed much variability, subsequent phases showed that an intervention composed of public posting and interdependent group contingencies increased prosocial behavior reports. Results are discussed in terms of using this system to increase student and teacher awareness of and reinforcement for incidental prosocial behaviors. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.