Validity of the Slosson Intelligence Test: A ten-year review

Ten years of validity research concerning the Slosson Intelligence Test (SIT) is reviewed. The equivalence of the SIT to the Stanford-Binet and the Wechsler Scales is examined and the relationship of the SIT to achievement measures is described. The importance of supplementing correlational findings with regression analysis, mean difference data, and information on misclassification is emphasized by the reviewers. Decisions concerning individuals based on SIT IQ scores are viewed as particularly risky in situations involving groups of subjects characterized by a relatively narrow range of IQ scores.     

‘Instead of “closing down” at our ages … we’re thinking of exciting and challenging things to do’: older people’s microadventures outdoors on (e-)bikes

ABSTRACT

This paper explores how people aged 50 and over, who were returning to cycling as part of an 8-week health and well-being trial, created their own cycling microadventures. Applying a stage model of the process of adventure to qualitative data generated from personal diaries and focus groups, we examine how older people anticipated and prepared for their microadventures, the challenges and discoveries they experienced, the benefits they gained and how electrically assisted ‘e-bikes’ can provide further opportunities for adventure. We conclude that cycles are a mode uniquely placed to facilitate microadventures and that e-bikes, in particular, offer further potential to enable older people to (re-)connect with place and other people. But while this type of activity can provide benefits in terms of health and well-being, we argue that more supportive physical and social infrastructure is required to provide opportunities for more people to undertake microadventures close to their homes.     

Measuring conceptual understanding in randomised controlled trials: Can comparative judgement help?

An impediment to conducting high-quality quantitative research studies in education is the paucity of valid measures of learning gains. Studies often seek to investigate students’ deep, conceptual understanding yet many measures assess only surface, procedural understanding. One reason is that the development of validated measures of conceptual understanding is resource intensive and time consuming, and success is not guaranteed. We evaluated a novel and efficient technique, based on comparative judgement, for assessing conceptual understanding. We applied the technique to a randomised controlled trial in which students were taught simple algebra based on either the Grid Algebra or the MiGen software package. The participants were Year 5 students (N = 188) drawn from four primary schools who had not encountered algebra previously. An instrument from the literature (Concepts in Secondary Mathematics and Science: Algebra Scale) and a novel comparative judgement assessment were administered following the intervention. Students in the Grid Algebra condition outperformed those in the MiGen condition on both post-test measures. The comparative judgement technique performed similarly to the standard instrument but was far more efficient to design and implement. The technique can, in principle, be quickly applied to any target concept of interest. We conclude that comparative judgement is a valid, reliable and practical tool that could help to increase both the quantity and quality of quantitative research in education.     

Anatomy in a Post-Covid-19 World: Tracing a New Trajectory

In responding to Covid-19 anatomists have succeeded in adapting their teaching to online delivery. However, long-term reliance on this mode of teaching raises the prospect that transferring the whole of the learning environment to an impersonal digital world will lead to loss of anatomy’s humanistic side. In looking to a future increasingly dependent upon digital input to teaching, a number of roadblocks are identified. These are: the peril of abandoning the ethos of anatomy; for the workload of staff and especially for female academic staff; by a lack of adequate resources; to the research nature of departments, including the quality of research; to the position of anatomy in the biomedical sciences; and from pressures to retreat from a dissection-based education. In tracing a future trajectory for anatomy, issues outlined are the inevitability of change, the need for anatomy to market itself to the world, and the opportunities presented for anatomy to view itself increasingly as a contributor to broad scholastic endeavors. Suggestions include exploring the possibilities presented by virtual anatomy museums, the use of online learning to reach those not normally in touch with anatomy teaching, and exploring the integrated courses with humanities disciplines. It is concluded that anatomy will flourish if there is a willingness to expand the traditional horizons and be prepared to integrate all that is best in the person-to-person and digital worlds.     

Confucian Ethics on the Commercial Use of Human Bodies and Body Parts: Yi (Righteousness) or/and Li (Profit)?

In China as elsewhere in the world, human bodies and body parts have long been used for a wide range of medical and non-medical purposes. In recent decades, China has played a considerable role in some of the public exhibitions of plastinated bodies and body parts, and the commercial trade in organ donations. These contemporary developments have raised numerous challenging ethical and governance questions. In spite of the growing role of China in these, there have been few studies devoted to Chinese ethical thinking that might govern its policies on the use of human bodies and body parts, and in particular on the issue of commercialization. The present study is an attempt to bridge this gap, and concludes that Confucian thinking stresses the primacy of righteousness over profits and utilities. This conclusion is reached directly by drawing on Confucian ethical responses to the peculiar practice of using human body parts, such as placenta and flesh, as drugs in traditional Chinese medicine in imperial China and what has been called “yili zhibian,” the major Confucian discourse on yi (righteousness or justice) and li (profit or interest) in its long history. The principle of prioritizing righteousness over profit leads to a general moral opposition to the commodification of human bodies and body parts. While Confucianism may not place an absolute prohibition on any such use, it does require that any commercial uses are made subject to the fundamental moral principles, such as righteousness, as well as adequate ethical governance procedures.     

BEGINNING PREKINDERGARTEN AND KINDERGARTEN TEACHERS’ BELIEFS AND PRACTICES: SUPPORTS AND BARRIERS TO DEVELOPMENTALLY APPROPRIATE PRACTICES

This study explores the beliefs and practices of nine beginning prekindergarten and kindergarten public school teachers and identified the sources of supports and barriers to their teaching. The teachers were graduates from one university's early childhood education program. Data were gathered using surveys, observations, and interviews. Overall, teachers professed to believe in and to use developmentally appropriate practices; they were also observed using more developmentally appropriate practices than developmentally inappropriate practices. Teachers reported a variety of sources of support and barriers to their teaching. Sources that were both supports and barriers were administration, co‐workers, curriculum requirements, parents, resources, and other. Sources reported only as supports were previous experiences, self, and continued education. Sources of barriers were class composition and school duties. In addition, teachers provided information about their teacher education program and on their expectations about teaching. The teachers suggested that teacher education programs needed to provide more field experiences and courses on classroom management. Some of the expectations the teachers had about teaching were unrealistic.