Further Study of the Choice of Anchor Tests in Equating

In this study, we describe what factors influence the observed score correlation between an (external) anchor test and a total test. We show that the anchor to full‐test observed score correlation is based on two components: the true score correlation between the anchor and total test, and the reliability of the anchor test. Findings using an analytical approach suggest that making an anchor test a miditest does not generally maximize the anchor to total test correlation. Results are discussed in the context of what conditions maximize the correlations between the anchor and total test.     

The Science of a Sundae: Using the Principle of Colligative Properties in Food Science Outreach Activities for Middle and High School Students

The opportunities for outreach activities for professionals and academics in food science are extensive, as too are the range of participants’ experience levels and platforms for delivery. Here, we present a set of activities that are readily adaptable for a range of students (ages 10 to 18) in multiple platforms (demonstration table and hands‐on workshop). Our activity, collectively called “The Science of a Sundae,” has three units, one for each of the three parts of a sundae: the caramel sauce, the cherry, and the ice cream. In each unit we use these familiar food items to illustrate how colligative properties (or, simply, “solutions” for younger students) impact the chemical, microbiological, and sensorial properties of food. We have used these activities to present to over 1000 students and their parents/chaperones. Grade levels of student participants have ranged from 5th grade through high school, and these activities have been presented in the form of a demonstration table at science events as well as a set of three 45‐minute workshops in a classroom setting. Educational impact of these activities was evaluated with 7th grade students (n = 77) who participated in the 3‐phase workshop. On average, students who took the posttest (after participation in the workshop) scored 36% higher than students who took the pretest (prior to participation in the workshop). These results and instructor observations suggest the merit of this lesson and its adaptability among ages and platforms.     

Remediation and Dismissal Policies in Counselor Education: Lessons Learned from a Challenge in Federal Court

Counselor educators today are faced with a difficult dilemma. They are mandated to dismiss students they judged to be unfit and irremediable, yet they risk legal action whenever executing a student dismissal decision. Their duty to protect the public must be weighed against the liabilities of costly litigation to institutions, programs, and themselves. This article describes 1 counselor education program's decision to dismiss a student and endure a lengthy, although unsuccessful, lawsuit and jury trial in federal court. The strengths and weaknesses of the program's remediation and dismissal protocol are examined as they emerged under court scrutiny.     

Defensive attack behavior in male and female rats

Male rats in a restraining tube bit and wounded the snout of an anesthetized male conspecific as a direct function of the intensity of tailshock, with bites declining systematically in the time interval after shock. Female rats’ bites on a male rat were also dependent on shock, but did not produce wounds. When an anesthetized cat was presented to rats in the same situation, females bit and wounded the cat before shock was given, while the males again bit only in response to shock. These data were interpreted as indicating that male bites on both a conspecific and a predator fit the same defensive biting pattern. In contrast, females’ bites on a male rat are actively inhibited, while females’ bites on a predator are neither inhibited nor shock dependent: this latter finding may reflect the adaptive value (protection of the young) of attacking a predator before it hurts the female rat.     

Formative research on an early stage of the systemic change process in a small school district

This study utilised a qualitative research methodology known as formative research to improve the process guidelines that are described in the Guidance System for Transforming Education (GSTE). This study took place in a small (5447 students), partly urban and partly rural school district in Indiana. The researchers, also serving as change facilitators, investigated an early stage of the systemic change process as outlined in the GSTE. Specifically, the research focused on field‐testing and improving the process for assessing the district's readiness for change. It was found that this process could have been improved if the facilitators had had more guidance to help them develop the interview protocols.     

A study of the use of instructional development in selected college/university continuing professional education programs

This article reports on a recent study on the use of instructional development to enhance the quality of university continuing education programs for professionals. As an instructional mode of continuing professional education, instructional development principles and procedures are potentially appropriate means for achieving and maintaining the quality and effectiveness of such programs. Although the application of instructional development in higher education has been studied by several researchers, there has been little research to address its application with regard specifically to the area of continuing professional education in higher education. Based on a national survey of continuing educators, the extent of use and the major factors associated with the use or lack of use of instructional development are presented and discussed. Three models of the use of instructional development developed through selected cases are provided.Philip L. Doughty is Associate Professor of Instructional Design, Development, and Evaluation and Director of the Division of Educational Development, Counseling, and Administrative Studies at Syracuse University.The authors would like to express their appreciation to Dr. Margaret Holt, former chair of the NUCEA Survey Research Committee; Dean Frank Funk, Dr. David Krathwohl, and Dr. Roger Hiemstra, at Syracuse University; Dr. Paul Ilsley, University of Northern Illinois; and the editorial staff and reviewers ofInnovative Higher Education for their helpful comments and assistance.     

A qualitative study of middle school students' perceptions of factors facilitating the learning of science: Grounded theory and existing theory

The purpose of this study was to explore middle school students' perceptions of what factors facilitated their learning of science. Florida's Educational Reform Act of 1983 funded programs providing the state's precollege students with summer learning opportunities in science. mathematics, and computers. The programs were intended to encourage the development of creative approaches to the teaching of these disciplines. Under this program, between 50 and 60 high-achieving middle school students were in residence on the University of South Florida campus for 12 consecutive days of study in the World of Water (WOW) program. There were two sessions per summer involving a total of 572 participants. Eighi specially trained teachers were in residence with the students. Between 50 and 70 experts from the university, government. business, and industry interacted with the students each year in an innovative science/technology/society (STS) program. An assignment toward the close of the program asked students to reflect on their experiences in residence at the university and write an essay comparing learning in the WOW program to learning in their schools. Those essays were the base for this study. This was a qualitative study using a discursive approach to emergent design to generate grounded theory. Document review, participant observation, and open-ended interviews were used to gather and triangulate data in five phases. Some of the factors that middle school students perceived as helpful to learning science were (a) experiencing the situations about which they were learning; (b) having live presentations by professional experts; (c) doing hands-on activities: (d) being active learners; (e) using inductive reasoning to generate new knowledge; (f) exploring transdisciplinary approaches to problem solving; (g) having adult mentors; (h) interacting with peers and adults; (i) establishing networks; (j) having close personal friends who shared their interest in learning; (k) trusting the individuals in their learning environment, including adults and students; and (1) experiencing a sense of self-reliance. The preceding information was used to generate a series of hypotheses which were woven into a theoretical model. This model suggests that middle school science teacher education would be enhanced by helping prospective and in-service teachers develop and implement strategies that build trust, provide immersion in learning, and use inductive reasoning. This model is currently being used as the theoretical base to convert a traditional junior high school in the South to a middle school.