Assessing the 21st Century After-School Program and the Educational Gains of LEP Participants: A Contextual Approach

This study examines math and English standardized test score progress of students who participated in the 21st century program across 2 years of involvement with a focus on the learning trajectories of limited English proficiency (LEP) students. We find that math and English scores are highly associated with the school and program type—even within a single school district. LEP participants are the furthest behind but have the highest gains compared to other participants. Results vary based on the type of outcome (math or reading), the type of activity (academic or enrichment), and the grade level (elementary or middle school).     

Comparing Rasch measurement and factor analysis

This article illustrates how Rasch measurement is preferable to factor analysis for reducing complex data matrices to unidimensional variables. The two methods: (a) address the same kind of data, but with different interpretations of numerical status; (b) use the same estimation methods, but with different measurement models; and (c) solve the same problems, but with substantially different utility. Factor analysis is faulted for mistaking ordinally labeled stochastic observations for linear measures and for failing to construct linear measurement. The motivation and mathematical basis for Rasch measurement are introduced. How to use Rasch measurement to replace factor analysis is developed for a dichotomy and demonstrated for a rating scale.     

Verbal Final Exam in Introductory Biology Yields Gains in Student Content Knowledge and Longitudinal Performance

We studied gains in student learning over eight semesters in which an introductory biology course curriculum was changed to include optional verbal final exams (VFs). Students could opt to demonstrate their mastery of course material via structured oral exams with the professor. In a quantitative assessment of cell biology content knowledge, students who passed the VF outscored their peers on the medical assessment test (MAT), an exam built with 40 Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT) questions (66.4% [n = 160] and 62% [n = 285], respectively; p < 0.001);. The higher-achieving students performed better on MCAT questions in all topic categories tested; the greatest gain occurred on the topic of cellular respiration. Because the VF focused on a conceptually parallel topic, photosynthesis, there may have been authentic knowledge transfer. In longitudinal tracking studies, passing the VF also correlated with higher performance in a range of upper-level science courses, with greatest significance in physiology, biochemistry, and organic chemistry. Participation had a wide range but not equal representation in academic standing, gender, and ethnicity. Yet students nearly unanimously (92%) valued the option. Our findings suggest oral exams at the introductory level may allow instructors to assess and aid students striving to achieve higher-level learning.     

The Center for Collegiate Mental Health: Practice and Research Working Together

The authors describe the Center for Collegiate Mental Health (CCMH), a practice–research network of university counseling centers, and introduce the special issue of the Journal of College Counseling that features the work of the CCMH. The issue features five studies conducted by the CCMH, all of which were focused on the mental health and treatment needs of culturally diverse college students. The special issue concludes with a commentary by Gordon Nagayama Hall.     

Dynamic three-dimensional virtual environment to improve learning of anatomical structures

Increasing number of medical students and limited availability of cadavers have led to a reduction in anatomy teaching through human cadaveric dissection. These changes triggered the emergence of innovative teaching and learning strategies in order to maximize students learning of anatomy. An alternative approach to traditional dissection was presented in an effort to improve content delivery and student satisfaction. The objective of this study is to acquire three-dimensional (3D) anatomical data using structured-light surface scanning to create a dynamic four-dimensional (4D) dissection tool of four regions: neck, male inguinal and femoral areas, female perineum, and brachial plexus. At each dissection step, identified anatomical structures were scanned using a 3D surface scanner (Artec Spider™). Resulting 3D color meshes were overlaid to create a 4D (3D+time) environment. An educational interface was created for neck dissection. Its implementation in the visualization platform allowed 4D virtual dissection by navigating from surface to deep layers and vice versa. A group of 28 second-year medical students and 17 first-year surgery residents completed a satisfaction survey. A majority of medical students (96.4%) and 100% of surgery residents said that they would recommend this tool to their colleagues. According to surgery residents, the main elements of this virtual tool were the realistic high-quality of 3D acquisitions and possibility to focus on each anatomical structure. As for medical students, major elements were the interactivity and entertainment aspect, precision, and accuracy of anatomical structures. This approach proves that innovative solutions to anatomy education can be found to help to maintain critical content and student satisfaction in anatomy curriculum.     

Racial/ethnic differences in Medicaid expenditures on psychotropic medications among maltreated children

This study quantifies racial/ethnic differences in Medicaid expenditures on psychotropic drugs among a national sample of children with suspected maltreatment. We linked 4,445 child participants in the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW) – consisting of children investigated for suspected abuse and neglect – to their Medicaid claims obtained from 36 states. We used propensity score matching to construct a comparison group of children without known child welfare involvement, and estimated two-part generalized linear models to examine differences in annual psychotropic drug expenditures per child between children of different races/ethnicities. When compared to a matched sample of children, African American and Latino children incur $292 and $144 less expenditures on psychotropic drugs, respectively, than white children. Among NSCAW children alone, African American children display $614 less spending on psychotropic drugs when compared to white children. Racial/ethnic differences in expenditures on psychotropic drugs occur among all children on Medicaid, but the differences are especially pronounced among African American children in contact with the child welfare system. These findings demonstrate that policymakers will need to pay special attention to the needs of children of color as Medicaid expansions proceed nationwide.     

Beyond physics: A case for far transfer

This is a case study of a physics undergraduate who claimed that he “uses physics to understand other subjects.” This statement suggested that this student could describe issues concerning the transfer of learning and especially instances of far transfer. Detailed instances of far transfer have been difficult to replicate in lab settings. Therefore, three interviews were designed to investigate this student’s claims about using physics to understand other subjects as a means to better understand far transfer processes. Transfer in this case study is defined as the personal construction of relations of similarity. Furthermore, I operationalize this definition of transfer via 12 aspects of transfer derived from the work of several contemporary researchers who study the transfer of learning. As part of this case study I also investigate the subject’s motivation for engaging in far transfer. Directions for future research are discussed which includes the need to study the role of personal epistemology in far transfer as well as a larger investigation of students who transfer broadly across school subjects.     

Measuring Undergraduates’ Innovation Capacities

This study describes the process of developing and validating an instrument that measures students’ innovation capacities as a higher education outcome. We introduce an interdisciplinary theoretical framework used to generate items and cover extant literature drawn primarily from the fields of higher education and entrepreneurship studies. We further discuss our use of latent trait theory and item response models to guide instrument development and measure scoring. We then provide the results of a second-order confirmatory factor modeling procedure, which indicated robust model fit. We close by discussing findings and offering implications for both higher education scholars and institutional researchers.     

Age-related differences in rats’ spontaneous alternation

Fifteen-day-old rats made random choices in a T-maze, while adult levels of alternation (approximately 70%) were noted among 30-day-olds. Also, younger pups were insensitive to a lengthening of the intertrial interval, unlike older animals whose rate of alternation decreased when a 1-h delay was interposed between arm entries. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that hippocampal development is a factor in the ontogeny of postweaning locomotion. The unsystematic pattern of goal-arm selections among 15-day-olds suggests that ontongenetic variation in the utilization of stimuli may underlie developmental shifts in spontaneous alternation.     

Young Children’s Prosocial Behavior Protects Against Academic Risk in Neighborhoods With Low Socioeconomic Status

Children raised in neighborhoods with low socioeconomic status (SES) are at risk for low academic achievement. Identifying factors that help children from disadvantaged neighborhoods thrive is critical for reducing inequalities. We investigated whether children’s prosocial behavior buffers concurrent and subsequent academic risk in disadvantaged neighborhoods in Bradford, UK. Diverse children (N = 1,175) were followed until age seven, with measurements taken at four times. We used governmental indices of neighborhood-level SES, teacher observations of prosocial behaviors, and direct assessments of academic achievement. Neighborhood SES was positively associated with academic achievement among children with low levels of prosocial behavior, but not among children with high levels of prosocial behavior. Prosocial behavior may mitigate academic risk across early childhood.