Pupillary and Attentional Responses to Infant Facial Expressions in Mothers Across Socioeconomic Variations

Maternal responses to infant facial expressions were examined in two socioeconomically diverse samples of South African mothers (Study I, N = 111; and Study II, N = 214; age: 17–44 years) using pupil and gaze tracking. Study I showed increased pupil response to infant distress expressions in groups recruited from private as compared to public maternity clinics, possibly reflecting underlying differences in socioeconomic status (SES) across the groups. Study II, sampling uniformly low-SES neighborhoods, found increased pupil dilation and faster orientation to expressions of infant distress, but only in the highest income group. These results are consistent with maternal physiological and attentional sensitivity to infant distress cues but challenge the universality of this sensitivity across socioeconomic diversity.     

Um Compasso Para Aprender: A Randomized Trial of a Social-Emotional Learning Program in Homicide-Affected Communities in Brazil

Despite global demand, the large-scale effects of social-emotional learning (SEL) programming in developing countries remain underexplored. Using a randomized control trial, this study examined the effectiveness of a school-wide SEL intervention—Programa Compasso (PC)—among 3,018 sociodemographically diverse, Portuguese-speaking children (M_age = 9.85 years) attending 90 public primary schools across Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 2017. Average impacts of PC on children’s executive function, emotion knowledge, and behavior problems after one school year were null. Moderation analyses did, however, reveal evidence for positive impacts of PC on children’s labeling of emotional expressions and inhibitory control within low-homicide communities (d = 0.15 SDs), and null effects on these same outcomes in high-violence areas. Implementation and cultural considerations are discussed.     

Sum and product separabilities of multivariable functions and applications

Necessary and sufficient conditions for reducibility of certain classes of multivariable polynomials are considered. The special case when a polynomial in that class can be factored into a finite product of single variable polynomials is investigated. A set of necessary and sufficient conditions for decomposing a multivariable p.r.f. into a sum of single variable p.r.f.'s is given. Examples to illustrate applications of sum and product separabilities of functions are given.     

Understanding Biological Evolution Through Computational Thinking

Science & Education - Computational thinking is a contemporary science and engineering practice that has been introduced to the US science classrooms due to its emphasis in the Next Generation...     

Should We Be Testing Civics? Examining the Implications of the Civic Education Initiative

Given the importance of developing civically engaged and knowledgeable citizens, many have sought to improve the quality of students’ civic education experiences. This article examines one particular effort spearheaded by the Joe Foss Institute, the Civic Education Initiative (CEI). Since the CEI was announced, 18 states have passed legislation that includes a civics test component embedded in the CEI. This conceptual article examines the CEI against research-based practices for teaching civics. It then introduces the policy design framework as a tool for analyzing civic policies like CEI. This political science theory recognizes that policies themselves send important signals that have implications for students’ civic development. We utilize the policy design framework to analyze CEI and, in particular, how CEI is likely to shape students’ civic and political engagement. We conclude with a proposal for future research on civic education using the policy design framework.     

Using Internet delivered video cases,to support pre-service teachers' understanding of effective early literacy instruction: An exploratory study

This preliminary study explores the effects ofusing CTELL (Case Technologies EnhancingLiteracy Learning) cases on preserviceteachers' learning. Students participated inone of three instructional treatments:traditional, traditional plus video, andtraditional plus CTELL cases. A pre-postconcept web, describing students' understandingof effective reading instruction, served as themajor outcome measure. This was supplementedwith a unidimensional confidence measure,journal entries, and student interviews. Nosignificant differences were found for any ofthe three treatment conditions on the conceptmapping task or the confidence measure.However, the journal entries and interview datahighlight important issues, challenges andbenefits, with respect to the use of multimediacases. Implications for teacher education areexplored.     

Hierarchial relationships among formal cognitive structures and their relationship to principled moral reasoning

Measurements of formal reasoning and principled moral reasoning ability were obtained from a sample of 99 tenth grade students. Specific modes of formal reasoning (proportional reasoning, controlling variables, probabilistic, correlational, and combinatorial reasoning) were first examined. Findings support the notion of hierarchical relationships which exist among those variables. Further results from factor analysis provide evidence that the variables represent specific cognitive structures that are interdependent with each other and precede operations in development. Finally, significant relationships were found to exist between the different modes of formal reasoning and principled moral reasoning. Combinatorial and correlational reasoning were found to significantly account for 22% of the variance in principled moral reasoning. Theoretical and educational implications are discussed.     

Students’ Emotive Reasoning Through Place-Based Environmental Socioscientific Issues

Research in Science Education - Engaging environmental socioscientific issues (SSI) requires navigating diverse positions regarding people and nature. This qualitative investigation determined how...