Gender,text, and discussion: Examining intellectual safety in the science classroom

It is clear from the extant literature that gender inequities exist in a myriad of ways in science classrooms. Past research, however, has been conducted solely from researchers' observations and has neglected to investigate students' awareness of and reactions to their own experiences. Hence, this study focused on students' perceptions of gender differences in instructional activity and talk about that activity in physics and honors physics classes. Data analysis showed that although teachers may be unaware of gender inequities, students of both sexes are not unaware of such inequities. Females explained their fears of offering their opinions and participating in activities like labs and small-group or whole-class discussions. Differential language patterns were found for males and females, particularly when discussion was structured and rewarded for refutation. Explanations are offered for these disparities and suggestions are given for addressing gender bias in science classrooms. It has been well documented that science classrooms are not gender fair (Bazler & Simonis, 1991; Bianchini, 1993; Tobin, 1988). Teachers, texts, and the forms of instruction they perpetuate contribute to gender inequities in science instruction. For example, research tracing changes in science textbooks over time has shown that current texts have failed to eliminate barriers to women in science (Bianchini, 1993). Science textbooks are criticized for their unequal treatment of genders, with illustrations, photos, and texts of males far outnumbering those of females, despite the approximate 50/50 male/female ratio of our population (Bazler & Simonis, 1991). In addition to the proclivity of science textbooks to favor males, researchers speculate that the tendency for boys to achieve higher than girls in science may be a result of more opportunity to engage in academic tasks (Tobin & Garnett, 1987). Their behavior shows that teachers have differential expectations for students' responses in activities like teacher-led discussion. In teacher-led, whole-class discussion, boys are spoken to more frequently and are asked more higher-order questions (Becker, 1991; Hall & Sadler, 1982). Teachers in science classrooms elaborate more on males' responses than females' responses in large-group discussion of scientific concepts (Jones & Wheatley, 1990). © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Coronavirus disease(COVID-19):The need to maintain regular physical activity while taking precautions

The on-going Coronavirus disease(COVID-19)outbreak in China has become the world's leading health headline and is causing major panic and public concerns.On January 30,2020,the World Health Organization(WHO)declared that the new coronavirus outbreak is a public health emergency of international concern.1 The virus has already had a direct impact on more than 10 million people in the city of Wuhan and has reached other parts of China as well,posing a health threat of unknown magnitude globally.As of February 8,2020,WHO reported 34,886 confirmed cases of COVID-19 globally,with 34,589 of them occurring in China(including 6101 severe cases and 723 deaths).A total of 288 other confirmed cases(with 1 death)have been reported in 24 countries,including Japan,Australia,Germany,and United States.2 However,these daily estimates are expected to rise even higher as reports from health authorities in China3 are gathered and near real-time updates of the Johns Hopkins virus dashboard are made 4 The outbreak has caused governments in various countries to take swift and protective measures.In China,these included putting cities on lockdown,5 implementing travel wamings/bans and cancellations,6 extending national holidays,and closing schools and postponing classes7.     

Creating a more inclusive journal: the Journal of the Medical Library Association's evolving process for selecting editorial board members

The Journal of the Medical Library Association (JMLA) selects new editorial board members every year. In the spring of 2021, JMLA used a new process for reviewing and selecting applicants for the limited number of open editorial board positions. This reevaluation of the selection process was spurred by a desire to create a more diverse and representative board. Changes to the procedures for selecting new editorial board members included having an open call for editorial board members, creating an application form, creating a selection committee to screen applicants, creating a form for the selection committee to extract data from applications, and creating a two-step process for screening and then selecting board members. As part of construction of this new process, areas for continued improvement were also identified, such as refining the application form to allow more specific answers to areas of interest to the selection committee. The newly created selection process for editorial board members constitutes a significant change in JMLA processes; however, more can be done to build on this work by further refining the selection process and ensuring that new members are selected in a transparent and streamlined manner.     

A comparison of learning disabled college students' achievement from WRAT and PIAT grade,standard, and subtest scores

Although there have been a number of studies that compared the test results of the Wide Range Achievement Test (WRAT) and the Peabody Individual Achievement Test (PIAT), none had been accomplished with a group of college-aged learning disabled students. Indeed, few researchers had investigated populations over 16 years of age, and none had compared grade scores and standard scores with appropriate subtest scores as derived from these two instruments. With the recent emphasis on postsecondary education for the learning disabled, it is deemed critical that researchers should develop a data base for study of this population. The current research demonstrated that although both tests purport to measure academic achievement in reading, spelling, and arthmetic, in reality, significantly different scores are derived when WRAT (1965, 1978) norms are compared to PIAT (1970) norms as stated in grade scores and standard scores. These significant differences in the grade and standard scores clearly indicate that the WRAT and the PIAT, particularly in regard to arthmetic and to a lesser degree to reading, are not interchangeable instruments of academic achievement.     

Assessment of multiple behavioral procedures on academic and social classroom behavior

A set of behavioral procedures focusing on the academic and social behavior problems of a group of adolescent students was incorporated within the context of a regular school program. The procedures, which involved manipulating type and delay of reinforcement, teaching desirable behaviors that were self-reinforcing or that others would readily reinforce, and training in several skills that are prerequisite to selfcontrol, were implemented in several classrooms through an independent grouporiented contingency system. These students performed significantly better than a matched control group with respect to grade-point average, class grades, school attendance, and length of time absent due to suspension. Changes in the contingency system throughout the year yielded differential effects on three behavioral measures: class attendance, assignments completed, and classroom behavior. The significance of these findings is discussed, and suggestions are made for future research efforts.     

Factors underlying regular classroom teachers' attitude toward mainstreaming

Nearly 1000 regular classroom teachers were administered a scale designed to assess attitude toward mainstreaming. To determine the underlying dimensions of teacher attitude, a factor analysis of the intercorrelations of the items was conducted. Five dimensions were isolated that accounted for 52.4% of the variance. They were defined as attitude toward: (a) general philosophy of mainstreaming, (b) classroom behavior of special needs children, (c) perceived ability to teach the special needs child, (d) classroom management with special needs children, and (e) academic and social growth of the special needs child.     

DNA microarray wet lab simulation brings genomics into the high school curriculum

We have developed a wet lab DNA microarray simulation as part of a complete DNA microarray module for high school students. The wet lab simulation has been field tested with high school students in Illinois and Maryland as well as in workshops with high school teachers from across the nation. Instead of using DNA, our simulation is based on pH indicators, which offer many ideal teaching characteristics. The simulation requires no specialized equipment, is very inexpensive, is very reliable, and takes very little preparation time. Student and teacher assessment data indicate the simulation is popular with both groups, and students show significant learning gains. We include many resources with this publication, including all prelab introductory materials (e.g., a paper microarray activity), the student handouts, teachers notes, and pre- and postassessment tools. We did not test the simulation on other student populations, but based on teacher feedback, the simulation also may fit well in community college and in introductory and nonmajors' college biology curricula.