Does Temperament Underlie Infant Novel Food Responses?: Continuity of Approach–Withdrawal From 6 to 18 Months

This study investigated whether temperamental approach–withdrawal underlies infants' responses to novel foods. Data were drawn from a longitudinal study of mother–infant dyads (n = 136). Approach–withdrawal responses to novel foods and novel toys were coded when infants were 6 and 12 months of age. When infants were 18 months of age, approach–withdrawal behaviors, positive affect, and negative affect were used in a latent profile analysis to identify groups of toddlers who exhibited similar responses to novelty. As predicted, novel food and novel toy responses were concurrently associated at 12 months and followed a similar developmental pattern across the 1st year. Furthermore, novel food acceptance at 12 months of age, but not 6 months, predicted greater toddler approach.     

Beyond Sensitivity. LGBT Healthcare Training in U.S. Medical Schools: A Review of the Literature

Purpose: Training future physicians to address the health needs of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) population can potentially decrease health disparities faced by such individuals. In this literature review, we examine the characteristics and impact of current LGBT healthcare training at U.S. medical schools.

Methods: We performed a comprehensive literature search to identify studies on LGBT healthcare training in U.S. medical schools. Studies published between January 2000 and September 2016 that described the program and reported on at least one quantitative evaluative measure were included in our review.

Results: We found 13 studies meeting our inclusion criteria. The programs had high levels of variability in curricular content, educational strategies used, duration, and evaluation methods. Many programs utilized an interactive experience involving a standardized patient. The majority of participants in such programs felt this approach was an effective learning strategy. All programs reported that participants felt the training improved their ability to provide more effective healthcare to LGBT patients.

Conclusion: Despite wide variability in their training approaches, the 13 programs we reviewed provided data suggesting a positive impact of LGBT healthcare training.     

Willingness toward organ and body donation among anatomy professors and students in Mexico

Most anatomists agree that cadaver dissection serves as a superior teaching tool in human anatomy education. However, attitudes toward body donation vary widely between different individuals. A questionnaire was developed to determine the attitudes toward body and organ donation among those who learn the most from cadavers: medical students, medical student teaching assistants, medical students involved in research, and anatomy professors. A cross‐sectional, prospective study was designed in which the questionnaire was distributed among first‐year human anatomy students before undertaking cadaver dissection at the beginning of the semester, and then again after a commemoration service at the end of the course. The questionnaire items included demographic data, as well as questions designed to characterize participants' attitudes regarding body/organ donation from strangers, family members, and whether participants would consider such practices with their own bodies. Out of a total of 517 students enrolled in the Human Anatomy course in the Medical School at the Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, Mexico during January to June 2016, 95% responded to the first (491) and second (490) surveys. Participants' opinions on their own organ donation was similar before and after exposure to cadaver dissection, with between 87% and 81% in favor of such practices, and only 3% against it, in both surveys. Participants' willingness to donate their own bodies, as well as those of family members, increased, while reluctance regarding such practices decreased by half (P < 0.0001 and P < 0.05). Professors had the highest rates of positive opinions regarding their own body donation (74.9%), with 18.8% undecided. Low opposition toward organ and body donation remains prevalent among both anatomists and physicians in training in Mexico. Anat Sci Educ 10: 589–597. © 2017 American Association of Anatomists.     

Using three-dimensional models to teach molecular structures in high school chemistry

The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of using two- and three-dimensional model representations of molecular structures on student learning of organic chemical structures. Organic structures were taught to high school students using one of four methods of molecular representation: (1) two-dimensional textbook representations, (2) three-dimensional computer models, (3) three-dimensional ball and stick models, and (4) combination of the computer molecular models and the ball and stick models. The computer software used in this study wasMolecular Editor. Students in the combination group of using both computer and ball and stick models scored significantly higher on the retention test of isomeric identification compared to the other groups. Molecules were represented in this test in the same mode as the instructional representation. However, on a similar two-dimensional post-instructional test of isomeric identification, this group had a significantly lower mean than the other groups; the two-dimensional group had the highest mean. This difference was not observed with the two-dimensional retention test of isomeric identification. When given a two-dimensional test of isomeric construction, no significant difference was found among the group means with either the posttest or the retention test.     

Maze-arm length affects a choice criterion in the radial-arm maze

Male rats were tested in a 12-arm radial maze with 6 arms that were standard in length and 6 arms that were half the standard length. As previously reported by Brown (1990), revisits to short arms were more likely than revisits to long arms. Two explanations of this effect of mazearm length on choice accuracy were experimentally contrasted. The first attributes the effect to diminished discriminability of visited and unvisited arms when the arms are short. The second attributes the effect to a relatively lax choice criterion being applied to short arms. An analysis of the microstructure of choices, applying the logic of signal detection theory, provided evidence for the latter explanation.     

A pedagogy of larger concerns used as a lens to reflect on the design of student learning experiences

ABSTRACT

Although engineering educational endeavours are often described with regard to how well they prepare students to meet national or global engineering concerns, the purpose of this paper is to show how those efforts can also serve the larger educational goals of the educators themselves as they develop learning experiences for their students. This paper describes the reflections of four engineering educators who used a research-based ‘Pedagogy of Larger Concerns’ (PLC) as a conceptual lens for examining important aspects of their courses. A PLC is a set of teaching conceptions that was identified in a study exploring the thinking of outstanding professors in order to improve our understanding of the basis of their effectiveness.     

Behavioral approach-inhibition in toddlers: prediction from infancy, positive and negative affective components, and relations with behavior problems

In this study, 126 children were observed at 6 months, 12 months, and 2 years. During infancy, latencies to reach for novel objects were measured. At 2 years, positive and negative affect, and behavioral approach-inhibition to low- and high-intensity situations were coded, and mothers assessed behavior problems. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated a 3-dimension model of positivity, negativity, and behavioral approach-inhibition. Positivity was related to low- and high-intensity behavioral approach-inhibition, whereas negativity was linked only to low-intensity behavioral approach-inhibition. Shorter 12-month latencies to reach were predictive of low negativity, high positivity, and behavioral approach at 2 years. Positivity and negativity were correlated with externalizing and internalizing behaviors, respectively. Finally, cluster analysis identified an exuberant group high in externalizing and an inhibited group high in internalizing.     

Evaluation of a Handheld Data Collection Interface for Science Learning

Despite a rise in the use of handheld computers in classrooms, meaningful learning with personal digital assistant (PDA) technology remains poorly studied. We report results from an evaluation of customized handheld data collection software, the BioKIDS Sequence, which was used during an 8-week biodiversity curriculum unit by 5th and 6th grade students in southeastern Michigan. We provide new information on design decisions and usability of our customized software; discuss learner use and preferences; and report rates of data accuracy. Most students were able to enter simple animal observations using an icon-driven, largely linear interface. The interface helped expand the types of data students were aware of, and allowed them to view and review their entries and flag them as uncertain, factors important in supporting accurate data collection. Other BioKIDS research indicates students were subsequently able to see simple patterns in their data to guide the formulation of future hypotheses, questions, or conclusions. The BioKIDS Sequence and PDA technology therefore represent a meaningful use of technology to support scientific reasoning.