An online categorization task to investigate changes in students' interpretations of organic chemistry reactions

In this study, we investigated how students organized their knowledge about organic chemistry reactions in a transformed curriculum, including their choices, abilities, and changes over time. This transformed curriculum focuses on interpreting the underlying mechanistic patterns of chemical reactions and emphasizes the principles of reactivity in organic chemistry. Data from this study were collected at beginning and end of an Organic Chemistry II course using an open and closed online categorization task with a set of organic chemistry reactions. In the open task, participants organized the set of reactions as they chose, giving us insight into how the participants preferred to organize their knowledge. In the closed task, participants were asked to organize the set of reactions in a specific way—by each reaction's governing mechanism—which would provide a measure of the students' ability to categorize the reactions in that way. We investigated the similarities and differences of the open and closed categorizations at each time of administration and analyzed the changes over time. Findings from this study emphasized the efficacy of the transformed curriculum for: (a) promoting a focus on process-oriented features of reactions over static features of a reaction and (b) increasing the students' abilities to categorize a set of reactions according to the mechanism governing the reaction. Findings revealed implications for the transformed curriculum, which addresses key areas for improvements, potential implications for research, and also limitations of the current study. We further describe possible extensions of this study to how the open and closed categorization tasks may be used for research and instruction in other science, technology, engineering, and math disciplines.     

Prevalence of reading failure in boys compared with girls

The hypothesis that proportionately more boys than girls experience reading failure was tested on a sample of 708 children using both test-identified and teacher-identified criteria. Test-identified reading failure was defined by low scores on standardized reading achievement tests given at the end of first and third grade. For Severely Reading Disabled (total reading score at the 10th percentile or lower), the ratio of boys to girls was 1.4:1 at first grade and 1.3:1 at third. At both grades equal proportions of boys and girls were represented in the Reading Disabled category (total reading score between the 11th and 30th percentile). Teacher-identified reading failure criteria consisted of enrollment in LD and Chapter One (remedial reading) programs at first and third grades. Teacher-identified ratios of boys to girls in LD were 2:1 at both first and third grade, exceeding the test-identified ratios, while identification for Chapter One services did not show a gender difference.     

Speaking Up and Speaking Out? Long-Term Impact of Critical Multicultural Pedagogy

This study explores the long-term effects of critical multicultural pedagogy on seven adolescents. Four years later, participants continued to demonstrate awareness of privilege and racism, yet few were actively engaged in antiracist work. Participants also expressed disillusionment and lamented the lack of productive discussions of critical multicultural issues in high school. This research speaks to the need to empower students to participate in critical multicultural work for the long term.     

Using Mentoring,Coaching, and Self-Mentoring to Support Public School Educators

Assimilating new teachers into schools is a critical component of administrative responsibility and sustainability. About 580 000 teachers (17% of all teachers) were newly hired at their school, according to the US Department of Education. Most of these positions were created because of “teacher turnover.” Some of these newly hired teachers filled new teaching positions in the workforce as well—which grew by three percent over the previous two years. As this number rises, there is a concentrated effort by building administrators to provide support and resources for beginning teachers to help eliminate teacher turnover and strengthen staffing at schools. Support for new teachers varies from district to district and even from school to school. Traditional induction programs offer mentoring and coaching methods. More recently, the concept of self-mentoring emerged. The purpose of this paper is to introduce the concept of self-mentoring as a tool for beginning teachers.     

Electroplating for high aspect ratio vias in PCB manufacturing： enhancement capabilities of acoustic streaming

This paper considers the copper electrodeposit ion processes in microvias and investigates whether the quality of the electroplating process can be improved by acoustic streaming using megasonic transducers placed into a plating cell. The theoretical results show that acoustic streaming does not take place within the micro-via （either through or blind-via＇ s）, however it does help improve cupric ion transport in the area close to the mouth of a via. This replenishment of cupric ions at the mouth of micro-via leads to better quality filling of the micro-via through diffusion compared to basic conditions. Experiments showing the improved quality of the filling of vias are also presented.     

What is really causing the obesity epidemic? A review of reviews in children and adults

Obesity prevention is a public health priority and intervention strategies have focused primarily on healthy eating and physical activity in children and adults. To date, no review has systematically compiled and synthesised the scientific evidence from published review articles to determine whether there is clear consensus on the causes of obesity. A systematic review of the literature was conducted searching PubMed/Medline for narrative and systematic review articles published between January 1990 and October 2014 that examined the causes of obesity. In total, 12 of 65 articles met the inclusion criteria; 7 reviews focused on adults (1 systematic, 6 narrative) and 5 reviews on children (2 systematic, 3 narrative). The most popular cause of obesity identified in reviews of adult studies was “combined physical activity and diet” (3 of 7 studies), whereas the most popular cause specified in reviews of child studies was deemed “inconclusive” (2 of 5 studies). While a number of reviews have examined the causes of obesity, the methodology and conclusions varied widely, and few were conducted systematically. Currently, no consensus exists across published literature reviews regarding the primary cause of the obesity epidemic, and more research, particularly prospective studies using state-of-the-art measures, is warranted.     

A 15‐Year Content Analysis of Three Qualitative Research Traditions

The authors conducted a qualitative content analysis on the consistency, rigor, and methodological identity of 83 phenomenological (n = 44), grounded theory (n = 25), and consensual qualitative research (n = 14) articles published between 2002 and 2016. The results indicate a distinct pattern of qualitative research practices in professional counseling.     

Cataloging from the Center: Improving e-Book Cataloging on a Consortial Level

In 2014, the Ohio Library and Information Network (OhioLINK) overhauled its consortial cataloging workflows by switching to what has been termed a model of “cataloging from the center.” For more than 20 years, the Ohio academic library consortium relied on volunteers from its member institutions to catalog consortially purchased materials. Consolidating the consortial cataloging into the OhioLINK office allowed for revising the various workflows. Since 2014, the cataloging workflows for these shared electronic resources have improved efficiencies, allowing records to be provided to members in a more timely manner.