Sensory, cognitive, and linguistic factors in the early academic performance of elementary school children: The Benton-IU project

Standardized sensory, perceptual, linguistic, intellectual, and cognitive tests were administered to 470 children, approximately 96% of the students entering the first grade in the four elementary schools of Benton County, Indiana, over a 3-year period (1995--1997). The results of 36 tests and subtests administered to entering first graders were well described by a 4-factor solution. These factors and the tests that loaded most heavily on them were reading-related skills (phonological awareness, letter and word identification); visual cognition (visual perceptual abilities, spatial perception, visual memory); verbal cognition (language development, vocabulary, verbal concepts); and speech processing (the ability to understand speech under difficult listening conditions). A cluster analysis identified 9 groups of children, each with a different profile of scores on the 4 factors. Within these groups, the proportion of students with unsatisfactory reading achievement in the first 2 years of elementary school (as reflected in teacher-assigned grades) varied from 3% to 40%. The profiles of factor scores demonstrated the primary influence of the reading-related skills factor on reading achievement and also on other areas of academic performance. The second strongest predictor of reading and mathematics grades was the visual cognition factor, followed by the verbal cognition factor. The speech processing factor was the weakest predictor of academic achievement, accounting for less than 1% of the variance in reading achievement. This project was a collaborative effort of the Benton Community School Corporation and a multidisciplinary group of investigators from Indiana University.     

Engineering education research in European Journal of Engineering Education and Journal of Engineering Education: citation and reference discipline analysis

The authors, citations and content of European Journal of Engineering Education (EJEE) and Journal of Engineering Education (JEE) in 1973 (JEE, 1975 EJEE), 1983, 1993, 2003, and available 2013 issues were analysed. Both journals transitioned from house organs to become engineering education research (EER) journals, although JEE transitioned first. In this process the number of citations rose, particularly of education and psychology sources; the percentage of research articles increased markedly as did the number of reference disciplines. The number of papers per issue, the number of single author papers, and the citations of science and engineering sources decreased. EJEE has a very broad geographic spread of authors while JEE authors are mainly US based. A ‘silo’ mentality where general engineering education researchers do not communicate with EER researchers in different engineering disciplines is evident. There is some danger that EER may develop into a silo that does not communicate with technically oriented engineering professors.     

Highly selective biomechanical separation of cancer cells from leukocytes using microfluidic ratchets and hydrodynamic concentrator

The separation of cells based on their biomechanical properties, such as size and deformability, is important in applications such as the identification of circulating tumor cells, where morphological differences can be used to distinguish target cancer cells from contaminant leukocytes. Existing filtration-based separation processes are limited in their selectivity and their ability to extract the separated cells because of clogging in the filter microstructures. We present a cell separation device consisting of a hydrodynamic concentrator and a microfluidic ratchet mechanism operating in tandem. The hydrodynamic concentrator removes the majority of the fluid and a fraction of leukocytes based on size, while the microfluidic ratchet mechanism separates cancer cells from leukocytes based on a combination of size and deformability. The irreversible ratcheting process enables highly selective separation and robust extraction of separated cells. Using cancer cells spiked into leukocyte suspensions, the complete system demonstrated a yield of 97%, while enriching the concentration of target cancer cells 3000 fold relative to the concentration of leukocytes.     

White Noise: The Attack on Political Correctness and the Struggle for the Western Canon

This paper provides a critical overview of the debate about political correctness and the status of the Western Canon in education. The paper analyses a number of critical themes in the debate: Who is it under attack? What is the Canon which is to be defended? Why does it need to be defended? And what notions of knowing and learning underlie the arguments of the proponents of the Canon? After outlining the ways in which the arguments of those attacking political correctness and defending the Canon are profoundly flawed, the paper suggests that the case for multiculturalism and diversified curriculum needs to be substantially strengthened if it is to present a viable alternative.     

The Impact of Parental Work Experience and Education on Environmental Knowledge,Concern and Behaviour among Adolescents

This paper derives from a larger study of the correlates of environmental concern among adolescents in Victoria, Australia. It begins by identifying some of the factors likely to lead to variation in environmental concern with socio‐economic status (SES). It then examines empirical data offering some indication of greater environmental concern among adolescents whose parents have had an above average length of edu‐ cation. The article concludes by arguing for a socially critical approach to environmental education in lower SES areas that takes full account of the economic and cultural circumstances of youth and their gender identity.     

Examining a mathematical model of mastery learning in a classroom setting

The purpose of mathematical models in any discipline is to describe accurately the relationships among significant variables of a system. The use of mathematical models is widespread in the sciences, but has rarely found its way into educational research. In developing a mathematical model for mastery learning, empirical research has shown that prior learning, motivation, and time on task are part of the significant variables that work together in some way in a determination of student achievement. A mathematical model that shows the relationship among these variables has been developed. To test the appropriateness of this mathematical model, carefully designed and controlled experiments must be conducted to collect numerical data on the significant variables. Using the model, the accuracy of its predictions can be compared with actual results. This is the technique used in testing mathematical models in the sciences and should be applicable to mathematical models of learning.     

A mathematical model for mastery learning

Prior research on mastery learning has examined relationships between achievement and time on task, motivation variables, as well as the effects of prior learning. One can show that the results of prior research lead to certain requirements on a model for mastery learning. This article uses those requirements to develop a mathematical model for mastery learning. This model includes measures of a motivational factor and of the specific ability of a learner with respect to the content being learned. The model also contains a variable to reflect prior learning. The model has been developed to include a computer program which accepts student data and from which predictions can be made and tested. Assumptions and limitations of the model are discussed, and some research questions are raised. In most respects the model proposed in this article is susceptible to the same tests and refinements as an empirical law in the physical or life sciences.     

The Role of the Internet in the Adoption of Computer Modeling as Legitimate High School Science

We describe a recent project that explored combined use of Internet client-server technology and interactive computer modeling software for improving secondary science teaching. We envisioned a constructivist network in which teachers make contributions to the resources available. The purpose of the network was to promote the emerging field of computer modeling in high school science. Our approach coupled the networking and curricular initiatives with evaluation of changes in classroom core practices—those which have a traceable impact on student learning. Distribution of work, ideology of science, teaching styles, and curricular goals come together dynamically to influence teachers' use of modeling technology in the high school science classroom. A combination of Internet tools, each affording a different contribution to the spread of innovation, provides the best promise for future networks of this kind.     

The Curious Incidence of Novels About Asperger's Syndrome

Since Asperger's Syndrome was formally recognised in 1994, several novels featuring characters with the syndrome have appeared. Bill Greenwell's article discusses these books in providing a context for a closer consideration of the British publishing sensation of 2003, Mark Haddon's The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. The reasons for the success of this suburban comedy, Greenwell argues, include the consequences for the reader of Haddon's choice of the sufferer from Asperger's as narrator, especially the generation of unconscious humour and the range of literary forms he uses to tell his story. Nicholas Tucker adds an Afterword from his perspective as an educational psychologist as well as a literary critic, finding in the novel a rich mixture of heroism, mystery and love mediated through narrrative ingenuity.