Preparing GTAs for Active Learning in the General Chemistry Lab: Development of an Evidence-Based Rehearsal Module for a Mixed-Reality Teaching Simulator

Journal of Science Education and Technology - There is an assumption that graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) have mastery of the chemistry content they are teaching and preparation to instruct...     

Paraprofessional home visitors’ perspectives on addressing poor mental health,substance abuse,and domestic violence: A qualitative study

This research was conducted to understand paraprofessional home visitors’ perceptions of their training in addressing poor mental health, substance abuse, and domestic violence, and their actions in working with families in addressing these issues. Five focus groups were conducted with a total of 28 paraprofessional home visitors. Three main themes emerged from qualitative analysis. Home visitors experienced tension between addressing families’ more pressing needs such as housing or utilities and addressing poor mental health, substance abuse, and domestic violence. Home visitors felt that they received extensive training in these risk areas, but that this training focused heavily on knowledge acquisition rather than skill development. Home visitors also desired more guidance in addressing families’ poor mental health, substance abuse, and domestic violence concerns—namely, more clarity on the extent to which they should address these issues during visits and more and varied supervision. Home visitors need more training on how to initiate conversations about mental health, substance abuse, and domestic violence, including how to transition conversations from other client needs. Home visiting programs must clarify home visitors’ roles in addressing clients’ poor mental health, substance abuse, and domestic violence and provide additional and varied supervision to home visitors.     

Falls the shadow and the light: liminality and natality in social work field education

This article is situated within an experience of conflict for Tina, a social work student, who is caught between her beliefs about the virtues of social work practice, and her disillusioning encounter with the school's administration. In this paper, we interpret Tina's experience of conflict by drawing on the central concepts of liminality and natality, and how she moves through disillusionment to illumination, thereby generating new self-understandings and meanings of social work practice. We conclude with the pedagogical implications for students, and educators, and that as messy and complex as the liminal is, it is also vital to the creation of new understandings and regeneration of meaning in professional education.     

Film Directors

Andrew Sinclair, John Ford (New York: The Dial Press, 1979 – $11.95)

Jeanne Basinger, Anthony Mann (Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1979 – $10.95)

Richard Leiterman by Alison Reid (120 pages, $5.50 in paper)

Federico Fellini: A Guide to References and Resources by John C. Stubbs with Constance D. Markley and Marc Lenzini (246 pages, $30.00)

Richard Lester: A Guide to References and Resources by Diane Rosenfeldt (152 pages, $15.00)

Ernest Lubitsch: A Guide to References and Resources by Robert Carringer and Barry Sabath (262 pages, $20.00)

Sidney Lumet: A Guide to References and Resources by Stephen E. Bowles (151 pages, $15.50)

Ken Russell: A Guide to References and Resources by Diane Rosenfeldt (140 pages, $14.00)

John Schlesinger: A Guide to References and Resources by Nancy J. Brooker (130 pages, $14.00)

Frederick Wiseman: A Guide to References and Resources by Liz Ellsworth (212 pages, $ 24.95)     

Students’ and Teachers’ Perceptions of Using Video Games to Enhance Science Instruction

Science education video game research points toward promising, but inconclusive results in both student learning outcomes and attitudes. However, student-level variables other than gender have been largely absent from this research. This study examined how students’ reading ability level and disability status are related to their video game-playing behaviors outside of school and their perceptions about the use of science video games during school. Thirty-four teachers and 876 sixth- through ninth-grade students from 14 states participated in the study. All student groups reported that they would prefer to learn science from a video game rather than from traditional text, laboratory-based, or Internet environments. Chi-square analyses indicated a significant association between reading ability level, disability status, and key areas of interest including students’ use of video games outside of school, their perceptions of their scientific abilities, and whether they would pursue a career in the sciences. Implications of these findings and areas for future research are identified.     

Estimating the Coefficient of Cross-Validity in Multiple Regression: A Comparison of Analytical and Empirical Methods

In predictive applications of multiple regression, interest centers on the estimation of the population coefficient of cross-validation rather than the population multiple correlation. The accuracy of 3 analytical formulas for shrinkage estimation (Ezekiel, Browne, & Darlington) and 4 empirical techniques (simple cross-validation, multicross-validation, jackknife, and bootstrap) were investigated in a Monte Carlo study. Random samples of size 20 to 200 were drawn from a pseudopopulation of actual field data. Regression models were investigated with population coefficients of determination ranging from .04 to .50 and with numbers of regressors ranging from 2 to 10. For all techniques except the Browne formula and multicross-validation, substantial statistical bias was evident when the shrunken R ² values were used to estimate the coefficient of cross-validation. In addition, none of the techniques examined provided unbiased estimates with sample sizes smaller than 100, regardless of the number of regressors.     

An Orthodox Curriculum in Development

The purpose of this column is to keep religious educators abreast of the relevant significant research in the general field of psychology. Its implications for methods and materials in religious education are clear. Religious educators may well take advantage of every new finding in scientific research.

Each abstract or group is preceded by an evaluation and interpretative comment, which aims to guide the reader in understanding the research reported.

All of these abstracts are from PSYCHOLOGICAL ABSTRACTS, and used by permission of that periodical. The abstract number is Volume 31, Number 2, April 1957.     

Teachers’ Perspectives on a Professional Development Intervention to Improve Science Instruction Among English Language Learners

Our 5-year professional development intervention is designed to promote elementary teachers’ knowledge, beliefs, and practices in teaching science, along with English language and mathematics for English Language Learning (ELL) students in urban schools. In this study, we used an end-of-year questionnaire as a primary data source to seek teachers’ perspectives on our intervention during the first year of implementation. Teachers believed that the intervention, including curriculum materials and teacher workshops, effectively promoted students’ science learning, along with English language development and mathematics learning. Teachers highlighted strengths and areas needing improvement in the intervention. Teachers’ perspectives have been incorporated into our on-going intervention efforts and offer insights into features of effective professional development initiatives in improving science achievement for all students.