Historically Black Colleges and University students' and faculties' views of school psychology: Implications for increasing diversity in higher education

This study investigates Historically Black Colleges and University (HBCU) students' and faculties' knowledge related to school psychology. A total of 165 students and 14 faculty members completed inventories that assessed the understanding and views of various psychological disciplines. Results indicated that HBCU students rated their perceived knowledge of school psychology significantly lower than all psychological disciplines. In addition, these students have significantly fewer sources of information for school psychology than comparable disciplines. Although more than 90% of students stated that they would attend graduate school, the majority was only somewhat interested in school psychology as a career choice. Furthermore, HBCU psychology faculty members stated that the American Psychological Association and the National Association of School Psychologists do not actively recruit or provide information to their students. Results are discussed in terms of increasing the number of African American school psychologists. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

“We Do It,but They Don't”: Multiple Categorizations and Work Team Communication

The present study adopted an intergroup approach to information sharing and ratings of work team communication in a public hospital (N?=?142) undergoing large-scale restructuring. Consistent with predictions, ratings of communication followed a double ingroup serving bias: while team members reported sending about the same levels of information to double ingroup members (same work team/same occupational group) as they did to partial ingroup members (same work team/different occupational group), they reported receiving less information from partial ingroup members than from double ingroup members and rated the communication that they received from partial ingroup members as less effective. We discuss the implication of these results for the management of information sharing and organizational communication.     

Attachment and Adolescent Psychosocial Functioning

To explore the meaning and function of attachment organization during adolescence, its relation to multiple domains of psychosocial functioning was examined in a sample of 131 moderately at-risk adolescents. Attachment organization was assessed using the Adult Attachment Interview; multiple measures of functioning were obtained from parents, adolescents, and their peers. Security displayed in adolescents' organization of discourse about attachment experiences was related to competence with peers (as reported by peers), lower levels of internalizing behaviors (as reported by adolescents), and lower levels of deviant behavior (as reported by peers and by mothers). Preoccupation with attachment experiences, seen in angry or diffuse and unfocused discussion of attachment experiences, was linked to higher levels of both internalizing and deviant behaviors. These relations generally remained even when other attachment-related constructs that had been previously related to adolescent functioning were covaried in analyses. Results are interpreted as suggesting an important role for attachment organization in a wide array of aspects of adolescent psychosocial development.     

School Choice and the Polarization of Public Schools in A Global City: A Bourdieusian GIS Approach

ABSTRACT

Over the past three decades, urban sociologists have shed light on the intensifying social inequality between the wealthiest and poorest neighborhoods in global cities; yet limited research has been done to illuminate the relationships between urban polarization and school choice (i.e., where parents choose schools for their children). This study sociospatially examines the patterns of secondary school choice in the global city of Toronto to illuminate the relationship between urban polarization and school choice. In doing so, this study combines Pierre Bourdieu’s sociospatial theory with a geographic information systems (GIS) approach. Overall, we found that popular schools and schools with specialized choice programs tend to be located in high-status neighborhoods, defined as neighborhoods with residents in the top 20% of family income, home prices, education attainment, and representation from the dominant culture. We also show that mobile students who choose popular schools or highly sought-after specialized programs tend to come from advantaged neighborhoods. Meanwhile, local students who choose a regular school in their neighborhood tend to come from low-status neighborhoods. With a new interdisciplinary approach, this study contributes to a more spatialized understanding of how social inequality and polarization account for school choice.     

Cardiovascular and ventilatory responses during formalized T'ai Chi Chuan exercise

T'ai Chi Chuan (TCC) is a widely practiced Chinese martial art said to physically develop balance and coordination as well as enhance emotional and mental health. TCC consists of a series of postures combined into a sequential movement providing a smooth, continuous, low-intensity activity. The purpose of this study was to examine the ventilatory and cardiovascular responses to the Long Form of Yang's style TCC. In addition, the subjects' TCC responses were compared to their ventilatory and cardiovascular responses during cycle ergometry at an oxygen consumption (VO2) equivalent to the mean TCC VO2. Six experienced (M = 8.3 yrs) male TCC practitioners served as subjects with data collected during the Cloud H and movement of the TCC exercise. Significantly (p less than .05) lower responses for ventilatory frequency (Vf) (11.3 and 15.7 breaths.min-1), ventilatory equivalent (VE/VO2) (23.47 and 27.41), and the ratio of dead space ventilation to tidal volume (VD/VT) (20 and 27%) were found in TCC in comparison to cycle ergometry. The percentage of minute ventilation used for alveolar ventilation was significantly higher during TCC (p less than .03) than cycle ergometry, with mean values of 81.1% and 73.1%, respectively. Cardiac output, stroke volume, and heart rate were not significantly different between TCC exercise and cycle ergometry at the same oxygen consumption. We concluded that, during TCC, expert practitioners show significantly different ventilatory responses leading to more efficient use of the ventilatory volume than would be expected from comparable levels of exertion on a cycle ergometer.     

Test-Enhanced Learning: The Potential for Testing to Promote Greater Learning in Undergraduate Science Courses

Testing within the science classroom is commonly used for both formative and summative assessment purposes to let the student and the instructor gauge progress toward learning goals. Research within cognitive science suggests, however, that testing can also be a learning event. We present summaries of studies that suggest that repeated retrieval can enhance long-term learning in a laboratory setting; various testing formats can promote learning; feedback enhances the benefits of testing; testing can potentiate further study; and benefits of testing are not limited to rote memory. Most of these studies were performed in a laboratory environment, so we also present summaries of experiments suggesting that the benefits of testing can extend to the classroom. Finally, we suggest opportunities that these observations raise for the classroom and for further research.Almost all science classes incorporate testing. Tests are most commonly used as summative assessment tools meant to gauge whether students have achieved the learning objectives of the course. They are sometimes also used as formative assessment tools—often in the form of low-stakes weekly or daily quizzes—to give students and faculty members a sense of students’ progression toward those learning objectives. Occasionally, tests are also used as diagnostic tools, to determine students’ preexisting conceptions or skills relevant to an upcoming subject. Rarely, however, do we think of tests as learning tools. We may acknowledge that testing promotes student learning, but we often attribute this effect to the studying students do to prepare for the test. And yet, one of the most consistent findings in cognitive psychology is that testing leads to increased retention more than studying alone does (Roediger and Butler, 2011 ; Roediger and Pyc, 2012 ). This effect can be enhanced when students receive feedback for failed tests and can be observed for both short-term and long-term retention. There is some evidence that testing not only improves student memory of the tested information but also ability to remember related information. Finally, testing appears to potentiate further study, allowing students to gain more from study periods that follow a test. Given the potential power of testing as a tool to promote learning, we should consider how to incorporate tests into our courses not only to gauge students’ learning, but also to promote that learning (Klionsky, 2008 ).We provide six observations about the effects of testing from the cognitive psychology literature, summarizing key studies that led to these conclusions (see