Episodic and semantic memories of a residential environmental education program

This study used a phenomenological approach to investigate the recollections of participants of an environmental education (EE) residential program. Ten students who participated in a residential EE program in the fall of 2001 were interviewed in the fall of 2002. Three major themes relating to the participants’ long‐term memory of the residential EE program were identified: (a) recollections were highly influenced by actions taken by the students; (b) program content/subject matter was retained by all of the students to varying degrees; and (c) emotional reactions to the experience were present. The results seem to support the notion that active experiences have an important role in episodic recall. Results also suggest semantic memory was achieved. The authors offer a potential model of learning for residential EE programs that is structured on episodic/semantic memory systems and is reflective of the results of this study as well as current research in cognitive sciences.     

The adoption of student-centered teaching materials as a professional development experience for college faculty

Efforts to promote the use of student-centered learning environments in STEM education have been tempered by a lack of professional development strategies that help faculty overcome common barriers to reform. This study investigated the impact that adopting a suite of student-centered teaching materials had on the teaching practices and beliefs of eight geoscience faculty at a variety of US institutions. Each instructor adopted 18 class lessons that were developed as part of the InTeGrate (Interdisciplinary Teaching about the Earth for a Sustainable Future) project into a semester-long course. The Teaching Practices Inventory (TPI) and Reformed Teaching Observation Protocol (RTOP) were used to collect data on teaching practices whereas instructor beliefs were captured with the Teacher Beliefs Interview (TBI). Data were collected over three semesters, a control semester using traditional materials, a pilot semester using the new materials, and a final treatment semester. While the TPI survey showed no self-reported changes in the practices, RTOP observations recorded the incorporation of more student-centered teaching practices. TBI results confirm that most of the instructors also made at least moderate shifts toward more student-centered beliefs about teaching and learning. These findings demonstrate that the adoption of well-crafted, student-centered instructional materials can have a positive impact on both the teaching practices and beliefs of college faculty.     

Understanding what is possible across a career: professional identity development beyond transition to teaching

Professional identity surfaces repeatedly as an important underlying factor in teacher development. A sequential explanatory mixed methods design was used to investigate identity development in terms of teachers’ expected and feared possible selves. Teachers (n = 120) representing three career groups (prospect, new, and experienced) participated. The findings reveal differences in possible selves which are detectable based on career group. New teachers exhibited a greater focus on task self-concepts; prospective teachers expressed both task and quality possible selves; and experienced teachers expressed identities more concerned about the quality-focused ones. Our findings also reveal a potential transition path in professional identity development.     

Impact of a consumer health information specialization (CHIS) sponsorship program on the ability of public library staff to provide consumer health information

Objective:In 2018, the Network of the National Libraries of Medicine (NNLM) launched a sponsorship program to support public library staff in completing the Medical Library Association''s Consumer Health Information Specialization (CHIS). The objectives of our study were to: (1) determine whether completion of the sponsored specialization improved ability to provide consumer health information; (2) identify new health information services, programming, and outreach activities at public libraries; (3) investigate benefits of the specialization; and (4) determine the impact of sponsorship on obtaining and continuing the specialization.Methods:We used REDCap to administer a 16-question survey in August 2019 to 224 public library staff who were sponsored during the first year of the program. We measured competence in providing consumer health information aligned with the eight Core Competencies for Providing Consumer Health Information Services [1] as well as new activities at public libraries, benefits of the specialization to public library staff, career gains, and the likelihood of continuing the specialization based on funding.Results:More than 80% of 136 participants reported an increase in core consumer health competencies, with a statistically significant improvement in mean competency scores after completing the specialization. Ninety percent of participants have continued their engagement with NNLM, and more than half offered new health information programs and services. While more than half planned to renew the specialization or obtain the Level II specialization, 72% indicated they would not continue without NNLM sponsorship.Conclusions:Findings indicate that NNLM sponsorship of the CHIS specialization was successful in increasing the capacity of public library staff to provide health information to their communities.     

Development and validation of a method to directly measure the cable force during the hammer throw

The development of cable force during hammer-throw turns is crucial to the throw distance. In this paper, we present a method that is capable of measuring cable force in real time and, as it does not interfere with technique, it is capable of providing immediate feedback to coaches and athletes during training. A strain gauge was mounted on the wires of three hammers to measure the tension in the wire and an elite male hammer thrower executed three throws with each hammer. The output from the gauges was recorded by a data logger positioned on the lower back of the thrower. The throws were captured by three high-speed video cameras and the three-dimensional position of the hammer's head was determined by digitizing the images manually. The five best throws were analysed. The force acting on the hammer's head was calculated from Newton's second law of motion and this was compared with the force measured via the strain gauge. Qualitatively the time dependence of the two forces was essentially the same, although the measured force showed more detail in the troughs of the force-time curves. Quantitatively the average difference between the measured and calculated forces over the five throws was 76 N, which corresponds to a difference of 3.8% for a cable force of 2000 N.     

Promoting attitude change and expressed willingness to take action toward climate change in college students

This study examined the relationship among cognitive and motivational variables impacting college students’ willingness to take mitigative action to reduce the impacts of human-induced climate change. One hundred and forty college students were asked to read a persuasive text about human-induced climate change and were pre and post tested on their attitudes about climate change and their willingness to take action to mitigate its effects. Students showed statistically significant changes in their attitudes about climate change and their willingness to commit to take action. A path model demonstrated that openness to change and a willingness to think deeply about issues predicted both change in attitudes and expressed willingness to take action. This research demonstrates that a persuasive text has the potential to promote change around complex socio-scientific issues.     

We all as a family are graduating tonight: a case for mathematical knowledge for parental involvement

The researchers in this study investigated the impact of mathematics-focused parental involvement on Kindergarten to Grade 8 children and parents as well as factors prompting that impact. Qualitative analysis consisting of parent, child, and teacher interviews and 3-year quantitative testing showed significant improvements in students’ mathematics understanding and achievement. Moreover parents and teachers improved on measures of content knowledge. We hypothesize that improved parent content and pedagogical knowledge and improved parent-child interactions around mathematics stimulate children to learn at school. Furthermore, we found aspects of parent knowledge and dispositions gained to be analogous to teacher MKT; we termed these aspects Mathematical Knowledge for Parental Involvement. Such aspects include content knowledge, valuing students’ own strategies, and listening to students’ explanations and may boost student achievement in mathematics.