Informal learning: Student achievement and motivation in science through museum-based learning

This study examined changes in student motivation and achievement in science during a visit to a university children’s science museum. The study was based on the pretest–posttest control comparison group design with four treatment groups: control, exhibit, lesson and exhibit/lesson. The sample consisted of 228 sixth-grade students from a Louisiana public school who were randomly assigned to one of the four experimental groups. Pretest, posttest and delayed posttest measures of intrinsic motivation and achievement in science were obtained using the Children’s Academic Intrinsic Motivation Inventory and an achievement test written to measure areas of science incorporated in the museum exhibits. The data were analysed using a one-way ANOVA, dependent t tests and Pearson r. Significant differences were found within groups for (1) the lesson group in motivation and (2) the exhibit group in achievement from pretest to posttest and from posttest to delayed posttest. A significant relationship between level of motivation and science achievement was revealed for the exhibit group on the delayed posttest. There were no other significant findings to support that the treatment led to any long-term effects on motivation or achievement within any of the four experimental groups.     

Science Teacher Efficacy and Extrinsic Factors Toward Professional Development Using Video Games in a Design-Based Research Model: The Next Generation of STEM Learning

Designed-based research principles guided the study of 51 secondary-science teachers in the second year of a 3-year professional development project. The project entailed the creation of student-centered, inquiry-based, science, video games. A professional development model appropriate for infusing innovative technologies into standards-based curricula was employed to determine how science teacher’s attitudes and efficacy where impacted while designing science-based video games. The study’s mixed-method design ascertained teacher efficacy on five factors (General computer use, Science Learning, Inquiry Teaching and Learning, Synchronous chat/text, and Playing Video Games) related to technology and gaming using a web-based survey). Qualitative data in the form of online blog posts was gathered during the project to assist in the triangulation and assessment of teacher efficacy. Data analyses consisted of an Analysis of Variance and serial coding of teacher reflective responses. Results indicated participants who used computers daily have higher efficacy while using inquiry-based teaching methods and science teaching and learning. Additional emergent findings revealed possible motivating factors for efficacy. This professional development project was focused on inquiry as a pedagogical strategy, standard-based science learning as means to develop content knowledge, and creating video games as technological knowledge. The project was consistent with the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPCK) framework where overlapping circles of the three components indicates development of an integrated understanding of the suggested relationships. Findings provide suggestions for development of standards-based science education software, its integration into the curriculum and, strategies for implementing technology into teaching practices.     

Estimation of MIMIC Model Parameters with Multilevel Data

The purpose of this simulation study was to assess the performance of latent variable models that take into account the complex sampling mechanism that often underlies data used in educational, psychological, and other social science research. Analyses were conducted using the multiple indicator multiple cause (MIMIC) model, which is a flexible and effective tool for relating observed and latent variables. The data were simulated in a hierarchical framework (e.g., individuals nested in schools) so that a multilevel modeling approach would be appropriate. Analyses were conducted accounting for and not accounting for the nested data to determine the impact of ignoring such multilevel data structures in full structural equation models. Results highlight the differences in modeling results when the analytic strategy is congruent with the data structure and what occurs when this congruency is absent. Type I error rates and power for the standard and multilevel methods were similar for within-cluster variables and for the multilevel model with between-cluster variables. However, Type I error rates were inflated for the standard approach when modeling between-cluster variables.     

Urban teachers’ perceptions of inclusion of migrant children in the Chinese educational institution: a comparative study

Recently China has been undergoing an unprecedented urbanisation process which has resulted in millions of rural families living in urban areas. As part of a study of Chinese migrant children's educational experiences, surveys and interviews were conducted with primary school teachers in a metropolitan city in East China. The objectives of this study were to describe teachers’ perceptions of migrant children's education in both migrant schools and in public schools, and to investigate differences in their beliefs between school types. Results found that urban teachers’ perceptions of educational inclusion of migrant students were slightly negative in general. However, teachers in public schools showed significantly more positive attitudes to inclusion of migrant students than migrant school teachers. In the light of these findings, the paper concludes with implications for practice and policy for education of migrant children in China.     

The detonation wave from solid explosives

It has been shown that the detonation wave from a solid explosive changes in velocity after leaving the explosive. In the case of some low-velocity explosives, e.g., about 2400 metres per second, the velocity of the detonation wave increases by approximately 100–200 metres per second. With other high-velocity explosives, 5000–6000 m./sec., the velocity may decrease to around 4400 metres in some cases.Careful measurements have shown that a zone of uniform velocity exists beyond the surface of the explosive, the dimensions of the zone depending on the diameter of the sphere of the explosive or the diameter of the cartridge detonated. In the case of a $\text{1}\text{1}\text{4}$-inch dynamite cartridge, the zone of uniform velocity extended for about ten inches, while, with a sphere of explosive four inches in diameter, the zone extended for about 25 inches.An explanation of the reason for the high velocity of the detonation wave in the gaseous medium is suggested, linking it up with either the velocity of sound at the temperatures prevailing or the kinetic velocity of the gaseous particles themselves, the latter explanation appearing to be more in accordance with the determined facts. Such an explanation implies the assumption of extremely high momentary temperatures at the wave front, in some cases of over 40,000° C. These extremely high temperatures are due partly to the heat of combustion of the explosive ingredients but more to the heating effect resulting from the enormous pressures developed at the moment of explosion, as previously applied by Berthelot and Dixon in the study of gaseous explosions. Adiabatic conditions are assumed in such calculations. With such an explanation, reasonable agreement between theory and fact is obtained for a number of explosives, and the discrepancies that exist are in cases where discrepancies might be expected.     

Relationship Reciprocation Modulates Resource Allocation in Adolescent Social Networks: Developmental Effects

Adolescence is characterized as a period of social reorientation toward peer relationships, entailing the emergence of sophisticated social abilities. Two studies (Study 1: N = 42, ages 13–17; Study 2: N = 81, ages 13–16) investigated age group differences in the impact of relationship reciprocation within school‐based social networks on an experimental measure of cooperation behavior. Results suggest development between mid‐ and late adolescence in the extent to which reciprocation of social ties predicted resource allocation. With increasing age group, investment decisions increasingly reflected the degree to which peers reciprocated feelings of friendship. This result may reflect social‐cognitive development, which could facilitate the ability to navigate an increasingly complex social world in adolescence and promote positive and enduring relationships into adulthood.