Learning from WebQuests

WebQuests are activities in which students use Web resources to learn about school topics. WebQuests are advocated as constructivist activities and ones generally well regarded by students. Two experiments were conducted in school settings to compare learning using WebQuests versus conventional instruction. Students and teachers both enjoyed WebQuest instruction and spoke highly of it. In one experiment, however, conventional instruction led to significantly greater student learning. In the other, there were no significant differences in the learning outcomes between conventional versus WebQuest-based instruction.     

Vocational and academic secondary education in Greece: Public and private costs compared

Much of the debate on the relative merits of vocational and academic education has focused on the costs of such schooling. The issue has usually been argued in terms of the public costs involved while the private costs have been ignored. This article compares both the public and private costs of technical-vocational and of academic upper secondary education in Greece. For the Greek case, the private costs of education are much higher for academic than for vocational education while the public costs are similar. The implications of this observation for educational policy are discussed.     

Location-based smartphone games in the context of environmental education and education for sustainable development: fostering connectedness to nature with Geogames

Abstract

Geogames are complex location-based games for smartphones and they are part of a critical discussion within the community of environmental education. The aim of the study is to asses if smartphone games are suitable to foster connectedness to nature and if there are differences between a complex Geogame and a less-demanding treasure hunt. For this purpose, two established scales are used in a pre-post-test-design: the inclusion of nature in self (INS) and the disposition to connect to nature (DCN). Furthermore, the game-related enjoyment was controlled. The results reveal a significant increase of the INS for both game formats, with the strongest effect for the former more nature distant subjects. The DCN-scale shows a similar tendency but not a significant gain. Between the game formats, no significant difference is detectable. So, the main effect seems to be the location-based activity in nature guided by smartphones, not the complexity of a Geogame.     

The 'Book of Life' in the press: comparing German and Irish media discourse on human genome research

The essay compares German and Irish media coverage of human genome research in the year 2000, using qualitative and quantitative frame analysis of a print media corpus. Drawing from a media-theoretical account of science communication, the study examines four analytic dimensions: (1) the influence of global and national sources of discourse; (2) the nature of elaboration on important themes; (3) the extent of societal participation in discourse production; (4) the cultural conditions in which the discourse resonates. The analysis shows that a global discursive package, emphasizing claims of scientific achievement and medical progress, dominates media coverage in both countries. However, German coverage is more extensive and elaborate, and includes a wider range of participants. Irish coverage more often incorporates the global package without further elaboration. These finding indicate that the global package is 'localized' differently due to national patterns of interests, German participation in human genome research, traditions of media coverage, and the domestic resonance of the issue.     

Temporal specificity in patterning of the rabbit nictitating membrane response

Rabbits were trained in either positive patterning (AX+, A−, X−) or negative patterning (A+, X+, AX−) using one of four intervals between the onset of A and the onset of X on AX trials. These intervals were 0, 800, 2,400, and 5,600 msec. In each task, all groups acquired an appropriate pattern of discriminative responding. Following acquisition, all rabbits were tested with the four different A-X intervals. All positive patterning groups showed an excitatory gradient, in which the highest level of responding occurred at the interval used in training. Conversely, all but one of the negative patterning groups showed an inhibitory gradient, in which the lowest level of responding occurred at the interval used in training. The one exception was the negative patterning group trained with simultaneous AX stimuli (0 msec), which showed a low, broad gradient, indicating transfer of inhibition across all the intervals. The results are discussed with respect to temporal encoding mechanisms and accounts of conditional discriminations.     

Three-dimensional CoM energetics,pelvis and lower limbs joint kinematics of uphill treadmill running at high speed

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of slope on three-dimensional running kinematics at high speed. Thirteen male sprinters ran at high speed (7.5 m/s) on a motorised treadmill in each a level and a 5.0% slope condition. Three-dimensional motion analysis was conducted to compare centre of mass (CoM) energetics, pelvis segment and lower limb joints kinematics. We found that contact time was not affected by the slope, whereas flight time and step length were significantly shorter in uphill compared to level running. Uphill running reduced negative CoM work and increased positive CoM work compared to level running. Ankle, knee and hip joints were more flexed at initial ground contact, but only the knee was more extended at the end of stance in uphill compared to level running. Additionally, the hip joint was more abducted, and the free leg side of the pelvis was more elevated at the end of stance in uphill running. Our results demonstrate that joint motion must be developed from a more flexed/adducted position at initial contact through a greater range of motion compared to level running in order to meet the greater positive CoM work requirements in uphill running at high speed.     

A Quasi-Experimental Study of Maternal Smoking During Pregnancy and Offspring Academic Achievement

The current study, based on all births in Sweden from 1983 to 1991 ( N  =   654,707), explored the processes underlying the association between smoking during pregnancy (SDP) and offspring school grades and mathematic proficiency at age 15. The analyses compared relatives who varied in their exposure to SDP and who varied in their genetic relatedness. Although SDP was statistically associated with academic achievement (AA) when comparing unrelated individuals, the results suggest that SDP does not cause poorer academic performance, as full siblings differentially exposed to SDP did not differ in their academic scores. The pattern of results suggests that genetic factors shared by parents and their offspring help explain why offspring exposed to SDP have lower levels of AA.     

Development of a Metric to Test Group Differences in Ecological Knowledge as One Component of Environmental Literacy

Abstract

Environmental literacy has been defined in numerous ways and attempts have been made to measure how environmentally literate people are. Many attempts to measure literacy have instead measured people's knowledge about pollution and their attitudes toward the environment. According to many environmental education experts, knowledge and attitudes are important components of environmental literacy, especially if the goal of environmental education is to change behavior. However, the experts also indicate that, to change an individual's behavior, knowledge about the environment must be associated with environmental sensitivity, personal beliefs, and decisionmaking and problem-solving skills. The research presented in this article contributes to environmental literacy research by offering a tested, valid survey instrument to measure ecological knowledge—one component of environmental literacy. In this article, we provide an example of how this instrument can be applied by comparing knowledge levels among diverse groups of Ohio citizens.     

The Assessment of Mathematics and Science Teacher Quality

The purpose of this study was to examine the types of instruments being used to document mathematics and science teacher quality characteristics in 48 nationally funded mathematics and science education awards. Each of the 48 projects operationalized teacher quality and determined how to assess it. The main research questions examined the instruments awardees used to gather data on mathematics and science teacher quality, and the main characteristics of teachers examined by awardees. Results showed that awardees most frequently used surveys or questionnaires to assess characteristics of mathematics and science teacher quality. The most common teacher characteristics examined by awardees' included teacher behaviors, practices, and beliefs, followed by the assessment of subject and pedagogical knowledge, and the documentation of mathematics and science teachers' certification. A few new instruments were under development and in use to assess characteristics of teacher quality. Detailed information on the development and psychometric properties of the instruments used for these examinations was not available from the reports. Because awardees were at different stages in their funded activities and data collection efforts were ongoing at the time of this analysis, this study offers a preliminary and formative review of the use of assessments to document mathematics and science teacher quality characteristics among these awards.