So close,and yet so far: cross-racial interactions among undergraduate students in two neighboring borderland communities

This article discusses two studies on the extent and nature of cross-racial interactions (CRIs) among undergraduate students from two neighboring US–Mexico borderland communities. Of the four participating higher education institutions, two were adjacent to the US–Mexico borderline, while the other two were 45 miles away from the borderline. One study relied on survey responses from over 900 students, while the other relied on focus group data from over 30 students. The participating students were from two universities and two community colleges. Although the students shared some common experiences and attitudes, there were some marked and important differences among them. These differences made a compelling argument for localizing what diversity means and customizing efforts to foster CRIs on college campuses.     

The design and development of a multimedia case‐based environment on parental engagement

The purpose of this paper is to present the rationale and principles that guided the design and development of PARENTS, a multimedia case‐based environment. Following a development research approach, the tenets of constructivist learning, and the advantages of case‐based instruction, we developed a multimedia program in which we utilized and incorporated the findings of the longitudinal study Ecologies of Parental Engagement (EPE). EPE focused on parents in high‐poverty urban communities and the roles they play in elementary schools that are active in implementing reform‐based science education. The main purpose of the multimedia program PARENTS was to help preservice science teachers to explore and reflect on themes of parental engagement in high‐poverty urban school settings. In this paper, we present the design and conceptual framework behind the first prototype of PARENTS.

Conception et développement d'un environnement multimedia sur l'implication des parents fondé sur des études de cas

Le but de cet article est de présenter le raisonnement et les principes qui ont orienté la conception et le développement de PARENTS, qui est un environnement multimedia fondé sur des études de cas. En suivant une approche “recherche et développement”, les principes de l'apprentissage constructiviste et les points forts de l'enseignement basé sur les études de cas, nous avons mis au point un programme multimedia dans lequel nous avons utilisé et intégré les résultats d'une enquête longitudinale – Ecologies de l'Engagement Parental (EPE). EPE a porté sur les parents se trouvant dans des communautés urbaines très pauvres et sur le rôle qu'ils jouent dans des écoles élémentaires engagées dans la mise en ?uvre des réformes de l'enseignement des sciences. Le but principal du programme multimedia PARENTS était d'aider les enseignants de sciences en formation initiale à explorer et à réfléchir sur la thématique de l'engagement parental dans les écoles se trouvant dans des zones urbaines de grande pauvreté.

Entwurf und Entwicklung eines multimedia Fall‐ basierten Umfelds auf das elterliche Engagement

Dieser Beitrag soll die Gründe und Prinzipien aufzeigen, die zu Entwurf und Entwicklung von PARENTS, einer Multimedia‐Fall‐basierten Umgebung, geführt haben. Nach der Entwicklung eines Forschungs‐Ansatzes auf den Grundsätzen des konstruktivistischen Lernens, und dem Berücksichtigen der Vorteile fall‐basierter Anweisungen entwickelten wir ein Multimediaprogramm, in dem wir die Ergebnisse einer Langzeitstudie – Ecologies of Parental Engagement (EPE) – nutzten und einfügten. EPE ist auf Eltern in städtischen Gemeinden mit großer Armut ausgerichtet und auf ihre Rolle, die sie in Grundschulen mit reformbasiertem naturwissenschaftlichem Unterricht spielen können. Der Hauptzweck des Multimediaprogramms PARENTS war, in Ausbildung befindlichen Lehrern für Naturwissenschaften zu helfen, auf dem Gebiet des elterlichen Engagements in sehr armen städtischen Schulbereichen zu forschen und zu reflektieren.

Diseño y Desarrollo de un entorno multimedia basado en estudios de casos sobre el compromiso de los padres

El propósito del presente artículo es de presentar los fundamentos y principios que han orientado el diseño y desarrollo de PADRES, un entorno multimedia basado en estudios de casos. Siguiendo una metodología de investigación y desarrollo y también los principios del aprendizaje constructivista así como las ventajas de la instrucción basada en estudios de casos, hemos desarrollado un programa multimedia en el cual hemos utilizado y integrado los resultados de una encuesta longitudinal – Ecologías del Compromiso de los Padres (EPE). EPE trata de esos padres que viven en comunidades urbanas muy pobres y del papel que desempeñan en las escuelas primarias que se han comprometido a poner en práctica las reformas de la enseñanza de las ciencias. El objetivo principal del programa multimedia PADRES (PARENTS) era de ayudar a los futuros profesores de ciencias para explorar y reflexionar sobre la temática del compromiso paterno en las escuelas ubicadas en zonas urbanas extremamente pobres.     

La situacion diglósica y su repercusión en la adquisición del lenguaje

Resumen

En este artículo se presenta una investigación cuyo objetivo es analizar las posibles consecuencias que la situación diglósica puede generar en la adquisición del lenguaje de los niños que la padecen. Se demuestra, mediante un riguroso análisis del lenguaje oral, que tal repercusión es claramente negativa en una circunstancia de no normalización lingüística. Dicha repercusión se materializa en una mayor pobreza morfo-sintáctica de la expresión oral cuando el niño debe desenvolverse en una lengua que no es la materna. Se deduce, por tanto, la conveniencia de que la lengua materna y la escolar sean una misma, al menos, en los primeros niveles de escolarización.     

Analysis of the body composition of Paralympic athletes: Comparison of two methods

Body composition is a physiological variable associated with physical activity and, in some cases, is related to athletic performance. Our objectives were to describe the body composition of participants in three distinct Paralympic sports and to compare the values of body density and estimated body fat obtained from the Paralympic athletes on the National Team by air-displacement plethysmography (ADP) and by the anthropometric method (skinfolds (SFs)). The sample consisted of 70 volunteers of both genders. The body composition of the volunteers was evaluated using the ADP in a Bod Pod^® and seven SFs. There were no significant differences between the values obtained by ADP and SF for body fat percentage (p?=?.58) and body density (p?=?.49). Analysis by Bland–Altman plots showed mean differences of 0.56?±?4.94 (?9.12–10.23) and ?0.0017?±?0.0113 (?0.024–0.020) for body fat percentage and body density, respectively. In conclusion, body composition analyses of Paralympic athletes by the ADP and SF methods show similar results, and ADP should be used as the first option when available. When the use of ADP is not possible, estimating body density and fat percentage by SF is a viable alternative for Paralympic athletes when future comparisons will use the same analysis method.     

Pedagogical challenges involving race,gender and the unwritten rules in settings of higher education

Cultural Studies of Science Education - In this discussion paper, we highlight a few interesting and important concerns that have been identified in a diverse number of scholars’ work. The...     

Framing equity through a closer examination of critical science agency

Cultural Studies of Science Education - Science for all has been touted as the primary path to equity in science education in the USA. We argue that without attention to the power imbalances that...     

Leaving the classroom: a didactic framework for education in environmental sciences

In Continuous Education curricula in Spain, the programs on sciences of the environment are aimed toward understandings of sustainability. Teaching practice rarely leaves the classroom for outdoor field studies. At the same time, teaching practice is generally focused on examples of how human activities are harmful for ecosystems. From a pedagogic point of view, it is less effective to teach environmental science with negative examples such as catastrophe, tragedy, and crisis. Rather, teaching environmental sciences and sustainable development might be focused on positive human-environment relationships, which is both important for the further development of students and educators. Within rural settings, there are many such examples of positive relationships that can be emphasized and integrated into the curriculum. In this article, we propose teaching environmental sciences through immersion in rural cultural life. We discuss how fieldwork serves as a learning methodology. When students are engaged through research with traditional cultural practices of environmental management, which is a part of the real and traditional culture of a region, they better understand how positive pedagogy instead of pedagogy structured around how not-to-do examples, can be used to stimulate the interactions between humans and the environment with their students. In this way, cultural goods serve as teaching resources in science and environmental education. What we present is authentic cases where adults involved in a course of Continuous Education explore ‘environmentally-friendly’ practices of traditional agriculture in Asturias (north of Spain), employing methodologies of cultural studies.