THE DYNAMICS OF LEARNING SCIENCE IN EVERYDAY CONTEXTS: A CASE STUDY OF EVERYDAY SCIENCE CLASS IN KOREA

With recognition of the importance of scientific literacy for the nation and yet the increasing students’ disinterest in science through school science curriculum, the Korea Science Foundation launched an innovative program called ‘Everyday Science Class (ESC)’ in partnership with universities and local government offices in 2003. In this work, we introduce the structure and dynamics of the ESC program in K-district through examining (1) how everyday contexts helped learners’ perceptions and attitudes toward science and (2) how the dynamics of learning environments effected learners’ learning process. We employed interviews and video recording of classes for data collection. To analyze the data, we used the process of thematic coding to understand the outcomes and effects of ESC program. The research findings showed that everyday context and a unique environment of learning with parents in the ESC program could bring forth learners’ understandings on the connection between science and their everyday lives and positive attitudes toward science learning. We also found that there were certain issues to be taken into account in terms of children’s cognitive development for further development.     

Language and Cognitive Predictors of Text Comprehension: Evidence From Multivariate Analysis

Using data from children in South Korea (N = 145, M_age = 6.08), it was determined how low‐level language and cognitive skills (vocabulary, syntactic knowledge, and working memory) and high‐level cognitive skills (comprehension monitoring and theory of mind [ToM]) are related to listening comprehension and whether listening comprehension and word reading mediate the relations of language and cognitive skills to reading comprehension. Low‐level skills predicted comprehension monitoring and ToM, which in turn predicted listening comprehension. Vocabulary and syntactic knowledge were also directly related to listening comprehension, whereas working memory was indirectly related via comprehension monitoring and ToM. Listening comprehension and word reading completely mediated the relations of language and cognitive skills to reading comprehension.     

Inequity in the Performance Evaluation Process: How You Rate Me Affects How I Rate You

The current study examined issues of leniency in the ratings provided by students for their instructors. Based on equity theory from the psychological literature, we proposed that individuals would consider the evaluations that they expect to receive in concurrent classes when evaluating the effectiveness of a given instructor. Our results suggest that individuals may form a mental comparison between how they expect to be graded in a given class with how they have been rated or expect to be rated in other classes. This comparison then leaves the individual either satisfied or dissatisfied, thus influencing the ratings that they provide for their superiors. Limitations of the current results are discussed, and recommendations for future research are advanced.     

Revisiting Young Children's Understanding of the Psychological Causes of Behavior

In 1989, Miller and Aloise challenged the prevailing belief that preschoolers tend to explain others' behavior in terms of external events or a person's physical attributes and have little understanding of psychological causes. That review documented preschoolers' understanding of, and even preference for, psychological causes as part of an emerging renaissance in developmental social‐cognitive research. The present, updated review (97 articles, participant ages 3 months to 6 years) suggests the emergence of a transformative new perspective in which social‐cognition is balanced between social and cognitive aspects rather than tilted toward cognition. Recent research on infants' awareness of mental states, young children's understanding of social categories and their judgments of the trustworthiness of informants, and cultural context reveals various ways in which preschoolers' social‐causal reasoning is social.     

English Isn＇t an Easy Language

多年来。Brad收到了许许多多中国学生的信。在信中,他们用英语与Brad诉说心事。畅谈梦想。Brad对学生们能够自如地运用英语进行交流惊叹不已。因为在他看来,学习英语可不是一件容易的事……     

Differential effects of attentional focus strategies during long-term resistance training

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of using an internal versus external focus of attention during resistance training on muscular adaptations. Thirty untrained college-aged men were randomly assigned to an internal focus group (INTERNAL) that focused on contracting the target muscle during training (n?=?15) or an external focus group (EXTERNAL) that focused on the outcome of the lift (n?=?15). Training for both routines consisted of 3 weekly sessions performed on non-consecutive days for 8 weeks. Subjects performed 4 sets of 8–12 repetitions per exercise. Changes in strength were assessed by six repetition maximum in the biceps curl and isometric maximal voluntary contraction in knee extension and elbow flexion. Changes in muscle thickness for the elbow flexors and quadriceps were assessed by ultrasound. Results show significantly greater increases in elbow flexor thickness in INTERNAL versus EXTERNAL (12.4% vs. 6.9%, respectively); similar changes were noted in quadriceps thickness. Isometric elbow flexion strength was greater for INTERNAL while isometric knee extension strength was greater for EXTERNAL, although neither reached statistical significance. The findings lend support to the use of a mind–muscle connection to enhance muscle hypertrophy.     

When professional athletes change sports: Sport development,sanctity of contract,and restraint of trade in the NRL

This case study provides insight into a current issue faced by sporting leagues—the movement of professional players to different sports. As the case illustrates, the movement of professional players across sport codes can have a profound impact on the management of sport development, the management of player contracts, and legal issues in restraint of trade.