The Gateway Science Workshop Program: Enhancing Student Performance and Retention in the Sciences Through Peer-Facilitated Discussion

Minority student attrition and underachievement is a long-standing and widespread concern in higher education. It is especially acute in introductory science courses which are prerequisites for students planning to pursue science-related careers. Poor performance in these courses often results in attrition of minorities from the science fields. This is a particular concern at selective universities where minority students enter with excellent academic credentials but receive lower average grades and have lower retention rates than majority students with similar credentials. This paper reports the first year results of a large scale peer-facilitated workshop program designed to increase performance and retention in Biology, Chemistry, and Physics at a selective research university. After adjusting for grade point average or SAT-Math score, workshop participants earned higher final grades than nonparticipants in Biology and Chemistry, but not in Physics. Similar effects on retention were found. While, positive effects of the program were observed in both majority and minority students, effect sizes were generally largest for minority students. Because of practical constraints in Physics, implementation of the program was not optimal, possibly accounting for the differential success of the program across disciplines.     

The art of being fully in the present with young children

The different ways caregivers engage themselves with toddlers can transform daily interactions, for it is the quality of these innumerable experiences that form the basis of the very young child's “curriculum.” The authors discovered that “being fully in the present” has many benefits and rewards. They became more mindful and reflective using this technique, and their sensitivity toward caring for children grew.     

Youth representations of environmental protest

A necessary condition for a functioning democracy is the participation of its citizens, including its youth. This is particularly true for political participation in environmental decisions, because these decisions can have intergenerational consequences. In this article we examine young people’s beliefs about one form of political participation—protest—in the context of communities affected by fracking and associated anti-fracking protest, and discuss the implications of these representations for education. Drawing on focus groups with 121 young people (aged 15–19) in five schools and colleges near sites which have experienced anti-fracking protest in England and Northern Ireland, we find young people well-informed about avenues for formal and non-formal political participation against a background of disillusionment with formal political processes and varying levels of support for protest. We find representations of protest as disruptive, divisive, extreme, less desirable than other forms of participation and ineffective in bringing about change but effective in awareness-raising. These representations are challenging, not least because the way protest is interpreted is critical to the way people think and act in the world. These representations of environmental protest must be challenged through formal education in order to safeguard the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and ensure that the spirit of Article 11 of the UK Human Rights Act is protected.     

Teaching and learning about solid waste: aspects of content knowledge

This paper investigates aspects of content knowledge related to teaching and learning about solid waste, focusing on the processes of learning and teaching by Elementary School teachers in Brazil, in two modalities of continuing education: courses and school‐based meetings. We analyse elements of teachers' reflections whilst referring to three dimensions of environmental education: knowledge, values (ethic and aesthetic), and political participation. We identify which dimensions are predominant, or absent, and the aspects included and developed in projects elaborated by teachers. The results raise issues we consider important to support teacher education and curriculum programmes and help teachers develop more substantial, critical and effective projects about the subject.     

Similarity and difference in fee-paying and no-fee learner expectations,interaction and reaction to learning in a massive open online course

The new pedagogical opportunities that massive open online course (MOOC) learning environments offer for the teaching of fee-paying students on university-accredited courses are of growing interest to educators. This paper presents a case study from a postgraduate-taught course at the Open University, UK, where a MOOC performed the dual role of a core teaching vehicle for fee-paying students and also as a “free-to-join” course for open learners. An analysis of survey data revealed differences between the two groups in respect to prior experience, knowledge, expectations and planned time commitment. The nature and experience of interaction was also examined. Fee-paying student feedback revealed four conditions in which MOOCs could be considered a pedagogic option for taught-course designers. These are: when there is a subject need; when used to achieve learning outcomes; when there is acknowledgement or compensation for the financial disparity; and when issues of transition and interaction are supported.     

HUMAN SUBJECTS AND COGNITIVE AGING RESEARCH: A UNIQUE SOLUTION TO A PERENNIAL PROBLEM

A fundamental concern of cognitive aging researchers is to find a representative sample of healthy, older adults who are willing to participate in experimental research. There are essentially two methods for marshalling a sizable body of older research participants. One can solicit the aid of local community‐dwelling adults through civic and church‐related organizations. Alternatively, one can travel to specific locations where elderly people are likely to congregate, for example, a retirement community. In this article, we describe our experiences with these two methods of research‐participant recruitment. The processes involved in both securing and utilizing a local body of research volunteers are presented first. We then discuss two subject‐testing expeditions outside of the university environment that have been highly successful. In the final section, we contrast selected demographic characteristics of our local and off‐site research volunteers and discuss the implications of differences between these two populations for conducting research with aged people.     

The Success and Struggles of Filipino Geriatric Nurses in Nursing Homes

Geriatric nursing is a physically and emotionally demanding job in healthcare. It is a neglected field despite the growing population of the elderly, and the experiences of geriatric nurses are one of the unrecognized aspects of this field. This qualitative study purports to explore the successes and struggles of the lived experiences of a select group of Filipino geriatric nurses working in nursing homes. A total of five registered nurses selected from Philippine geriatric homes were the subjects of this qualitative study. Data were gathered from a two-part instrument: namely, a researcher-made robotfoto and a semistructured interview. Through the use of a repertory grid involving both cool and warm analyses, field texts were phenomenologically reduced in order to establish distinct conceptual clusters.

Summarily, two roles were found to be the defining elements of Filipino geriatric care nurses' sense of success and fulfillment. These include the instrumental and developmental, which describe the nurses' appreciation of their unique place in the lives of their elderly patients and, at the same time, their experiences of personal and professional growth and expansion as nurses. In regard to their struggles, the contextual conditions in the workplace typify the roadblocks of their efficient and effective delivery of quality healthcare services.