Explicit Reflective Nature of Science Instruction: Evolution,Intelligent Design,and Umbrellaology

The investigators sought to design an instructional unit to enhance an understanding of the nature of science (NOS) by taking into account both instructional best practices and suggestions made by noted science philosopher Thomas Kuhn. Preservice secondary science teachers enrolled in a course, Laboratory Techniques in the Teaching of Science, served as participants in action research. Sources of data used to inform instructional decisions included students written reaction papers to the assigned readings, transcribed verbal comments made during class discussions and other in-class activities, and final reflection essays. Three iterative implementations of the instructional unit were attempted. The objectives of the study were essentially met. The instructional unit was able to provoke preservice teachers into wrestling with many substantive issues associated with the NOS. Implications concerning the design of explicit reflective NOS instruction are included.     

Bolstering students’ written argumentation by refining an effective discourse intervention: negotiating the fine line between flexibility and fidelity

Instructional Science - Effective interventions are needed to bolster students’ argumentation capacities, an area in which they consistently struggle. Quality Talk (QT) is an approach to...     

Speaking Through the Body: The Incidence of Self‐Injury,Piercing, and Tattooing Among College Students

Self‐injurious behaviors were compared with tattooing and piercing in a college population. Findings indicate a high prevalence of self‐injury. Students who self‐injured were motivated by a desire to alleviate emotional pain; students who tattooed and pierced by self‐expression. Students who self‐injured scored higher than students who tattooed and pierced on measures of depression and scored lower on self‐esteem and sense of control scales. The incidence of all 3 body‐altering behaviors was higher among participants reporting physical/sexual abuse or eating disorders.     

A Review of the Physics and the Building Science which Underpins Methods of Low Energy Storage of Museum and Archive Collections*

ABSTRACT

The need to keep things cool for durability should be the single most powerful influence on storage design. The simplest temperature control is to moderate the outside temperature by a combination of thermal insulation and heat capacity. The low energy storage building is a lightweight, thermally insulated, airtight building put on top of an uninsulated floor slab laid directly on the ground. The thermal insulation is calculated to even out the daily temperature cycle but to allow an annual temperature cycle which is about half the amplitude, but much smoother, than the annual temperature cycle outside. The winter temperature inside will nearly always be above ambient and so will maintain a moderate RH without need for either humidification or dehumidification. The temperature inside in summer will be below ambient and thus will force dehumidification of the infiltrating air. However, the airtightness of the building allows intermittent dehumidification with low energy consumption, less than one kWh/m³ per year. There now exist enough buildings designed on this principle to reassure curators that highly valued collections can be stored in a space with a gentle temperature cycle and with an RH stability as good as air-conditioning usually achieves.     

Persuasive impact of loss and gain frames on intentions to exercise: A test of six moderators

The current study situated loss/gain-framing research in the extended parallel process model and tested whether two message features (dose, efficacy appeals) and four individual difference variables (walking self-efficacy, grit, consideration of future consequences, health information overload (HIO)) moderated the impact of message framing on intentions to engage in physical activity. Adults (N?=?341, M_age?=?38.09, SD?=?10.94) were randomly assigned to one of eight message conditions advocating exercise behavior. All four individual difference variables significantly moderated framing effects such that gain-framed messages were more effective for individuals with lower walking self-efficacy, grit, and consideration of future consequences and loss-framed messages were significantly more effective for individuals with higher walking self-efficacy, grit, consideration of future consequences, and for those with lower HIO.     

On extending the concept of double negativity to acoustic waves

INTRODUCTION At this moment, novel concepts of “negative” media, having negative refraction and/or “double negativity” and their physical consequences and plausible applications are drawing considerable at- tention from the science and engineering community. In the past few years, considerable progress has been made in electromagnetic (EM) waves. It is our wish to generalize such concepts to acoustic waves. Since the concept of negative refraction, negative constitutive relationships…     

Reliability of a Digital Method to Determine Frontal Area of a Cyclist

Eight cyclists were photographed with a digital camera for three trials while positioned on their own bicycle wearing their helmet. The positions were different from each other and described as hands on the brake hoods, hands below the curve of the brake hoods on the handlebars, and using aerobars. Twenty-four trials were digitized by two different individuals three times to estimate the inter- and intra-rater reliability of the method. The intraclass correlation coefficient (p < .05) value for the intra-rater (test–retest) reliability was .993, and for inter-rater consistency, it was .976. There were significant differences (p < .05) between digitizers and between trials, apparently due to a learning effect that disappeared by the third trial. Due to small differences between digitizers and trials, caution is recommended when considering the use of this method.     

For Young Jumpers,Differences are in the Movement's Control,Not its Coordination

Abstract

Previous research on the development of jumping has indicated that the coordination of the jump is stable from its inception, but that individual differences lie in the control of the task. The purpose of this study was to examine control in the vertical jump as performed by novice jumpers. Two groups of children who varied in their ability to regulate the takeoff angle were compared on measures of coordination and control. The children's groups were also compared to a group of skilled adults. Both children's groups demonstrated temporal coordination patterns comparable to the adult pattern, though the children were distinguished from the adults on selected spatial (control) measures. The results indicate that a mature pattern of coordination for the jump exists at the earliest stages of the behavior's appearance in the movement repertoire. The novice, however, lacks the ability to precisely control, or tune, the movement to task demands.     

Training teachers to use verbal immediacy

Previous research clearly demonstrates the positive impacts of using verbal immediacy in the college classroom. This paper explores the issue of training university instructors to increase their verbal immediacy use while teaching. First, a brief literature review recaps recent verbal immediacy studies and the reasons training could be valuable. Next, the training method is outlined and results reveal how university teachers were successfully trained to use significantly more verbal immediacy in their classrooms, compared to a control group of teachers who were not trained. A discussion concludes with the implications for improving college teaching.     

Attempts to televise parliament

Concern in Canada about U.S. cultural and economic “invasions” is not new—and here is some support for the contention that despite Canadian content regulations of recent years a large portion of the Canadian population still sees heavily Americanized TV programming simply because much of that programming comes directly from the U.S.—not via cable or Canadian stations subject to Canadian controls. The authors (a husband‐wife team) work in the Boston area, where Richard Nielson is on the Boston University faculty. Angela Nielson is a freelance writer‐researcher.