Knowledge,Action and Pro-environmental Behaviour

This article begins by clarifying and discussing the concept of 'pro-environmental behaviour', which (implicitly) constitutes the central concept--or aim--of environmental education in the article. This is followed by a discussion of the concept of knowledge per se and its position in working with environmental problems. These two concepts require further refinement if research efforts are to make a contribution to the development of environmental education. A few examples and conceptual models will be proposed to clarify the discussion. Finally, comments and suggestions are offered for an elaboration of the model proposed by Kollmuss and Agyeman. This present article primarily draws on research and insights into environmental education in schools. Furthermore, the article primarily explores work with environmental problems in Danish schools and focuses on the general pedagogical dimensions of work done in schools in order to relate these directly to issues discussed by Kollmuss and Agyeman.     

Peter rabbit hops into the twenty-first century

Summary Adults have tried to identify and to seek complex explanations for Potter's success. She explained it simply: “It is much more satisfactory to address a real live child. I often think that was the secret of the success of Peter Rabbit; it was written to a child—not made to order” (Lane, 1976, p. 183). She felt the more spontaneous the pleasure, the better the result. You are encouraged to heed Potter's advice. Address the real live child as you enjoy the pleasure of this adventure into the life and times of Beatrix Potter and all her animal friends.     

Citizen science in digital worlds: the seduction of a temporary escape or a lifelong pursuit?

There is a vast terrain of emerging research that explores recent innovations in digital games, particularly as they relate to questions of teaching and learning science. One such game, Citizen Science, was developed to teach players about the practice of citizen science as well as lake ecology. Citizen science is a pedagogy that has a long history within the scientific community, engaging the public in ongoing community and environmental surveys to collect data for existing small-scale studies. More recently, citizen science has gained traction as an educational context for teaching and learning science in ways that connect to students?? lives and interests. By placing citizen science within the realm of digital worlds, Matthew Gaydos and Kurt Squire invite new possibilities for knowledge to become more kinetic, moving in multiple directions. In this article we discuss some of the tensions we experienced as we explored the digital game, Citizen Science. We highlight questions about narrative and complexity, emergent game play and transfer to encourage thinking about the development and implementation of games such as Citizen Science.     

Investigating self-regulated study strategies among postsecondary students with and without dyslexia: a diary method study

We investigated the use of self-regulated study strategies among undergraduates with dyslexia by means of extensive web-based diary data, comparing their strategy use to that of matched students without dyslexia who completed the diary in the same period. Additionally, we examined the perceived benefits of using the recorded strategies in both groups, as well as relationships between the recorded strategies and perceived self-efficacy and academic performance. Results indicated that across lecture, individual study, and social study contexts, students with and without dyslexia recorded a comparable, broad range of strategies, yet students with dyslexia seemed to use particular visual and social strategies more consistently than did students without dyslexia. Across the three study contexts, both students with and without dyslexia also perceived the strategies they recorded in the diaries to be quite beneficial, but with particular visual and social strategies seemingly perceived as more helpful by students with dyslexia. Finally, self-regulated study strategies were positively related to perceived self-efficacy and academic performance among the students with dyslexia but not among the students without dyslexia. We discuss the possibility that the diary method used to assess strategy use among students with dyslexia in different study contexts over time was more appropriate for revealing the breadth and value of their strategy repertoire than the decontextualized, one-time questionnaire and interview approaches used in prior work.     

Component analysis and evidentiary basis of coping skills content on Pinterest

The present study seeks to understand the evidence base of coping‐related content (pins) shared by followers of the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) on Pinterest. NASP's Pinterest followers are pinning professionally, but the efficacy of the content being shared is largely unknown. Using a component analysis approach, the present study links pins to common components of evidence‐based coping skills interventions. The results suggest followers of NASP on Pinterest are pinning common coping intervention components. In general, more pins are limited in evidence base, but this varies by component. Certain components are more likely to be evidence‐based, while others are more likely to have limited efficacy. The results of the present study are consistent with previous Pinterest research; however, more information is needed to best understand efficacy and implementation patterns. By looking into pin use, future researchers will determine how followers of NASP on Pinterest choose and implement pins, thus providing a means to leverage Pinterest for dissemination of evidence‐based content.     

September 11 and the failures of American intellectuals

This essay critiques the main responses to 9/11 by US intellectuals and analyzes how these reactions reinforced a determined ignorance of the consequences of US economic, foreign, and military policy and a further depoliticization of the culture in general. As a class, faculty have the resources—material and intellectual—to make a serious contribution to progressive political and social change in the world. They need to start putting those resources to work.     

Comparing Theories of Media Learning: Cognitive Mediation,Information Utility,and Knowledge Acquisition from Cancer News

Determining what factors predict media learning is an important avenue of research for the field of mass communication. The present study provides a comparative investigation of two models of media learning: the cognitive mediation model and the information utility model. Participants (N = 1,076) read a news article related to scientific discoveries relevant to cancer prevention and responded to all constructs of the two models. Recognition and comprehension were used to measure knowledge acquisition. Results generally support previous predictions of each model, though predicted variance remains small. In addition to testing the existing models, a modified cognitive mediation model using a key construct related to information utility—perceived relevance—was tested. The refined cognitive mediation model offered a more nuanced understanding of certain causal mechanisms but did not result in a meaningful change in predictive power of the model. Implications of the theoretical comparison and integration are discussed.     

Feminists of faith: Sonia Johnson and the Mormons for ERA

The Mormons for ERA is analyzed in this essay as an innovational movement. In this way, Sonia Johnson's appeals to mainstream Mormons before her excommunication can he understood as reformist discourse which became radicalized only in a second stage.