Development and evaluation of the conceptual inventory of natural selection

Natural selection as a mechanism of evolution is a central concept in biology; yet, most nonbiology‐majors do not thoroughly understand the theory even after instruction. Many alternative conceptions on this topic have been identified, indicating that the job of the instructor is a difficult one. This article presents a new diagnostic test to assess students' understanding of natural selection. The test items are based on actual scientific studies of natural selection, whereas previous tests have employed hypothetical situations that were often misleading or oversimplified. The Conceptual Inventory of Natural Selection (CINS) is a 20‐item multiple choice test that employs common alternative conceptions as distractors. An original 12‐item version of the test was field‐tested with 170 nonmajors in 6 classes and 43 biology majors in 1 class at 3 community colleges. The test scores of one subset of nonmajors (n = 7) were compared with the students' performances in semistructured interviews. There was a positive correlation between the test scores and the interview scores. The current 20‐item version of the CINS was field‐tested with 206 students in a nonmajors' general biology course. The face validity, internal validity, reliability, and readability of the CINS are discussed. Results indicate that the CINS will be a valuable tool for instructors. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 39: 952–978, 2002     

Predictive validity of my class inventory

A recent guest-edited issue of this journal (Volume 6, Number 3, 1980) summarizes the considerable interest evident since the late 1960s in the conceptualization, assessment, and study of student perceptions of psychological characteristics of their classroom learning environment. This issue and several other recent key overviews (Moos, 1979; Walberg, 1979; Fraser, 1981; Fraser and Walberg, 1981) have firmly established classroom environment as a thriving field of study.When used as criterion variables in prior curriculum evaluation research, student perceptions of classroom environment characteristics have differentiated revealingly, usefully, and appreaciably between classrooms following alternative curriculum materials or instructional strategies (Anderson, Walberg, and Welch, 1969; Levin, 1980). In addition, other studies have established the criterion validity of classroom environment perceptions in differentiating between classrooms varying in class size (Walberg, 1969), grade level (Welch, 1979), and subject matter (Anderson, 1971a; Hearn and Moos, 1978), and between classrooms in five different types of schools (urban, rural, suburban, vocational, alternative) (Trickett, 1978). The strongest tradition in past research on classroom learning environment, however, has involved investigation of the predictive validity of student perceptions (i.e., the ability to predict student cognitive, affective, and behavioral learning outcomes).     

A comparison of actual and preferred classroom environments as perceived by science teachers and students

This study of perceptions of classroom environment is distinctive in that, first, it made use of two instruments (the Individualized Classroom Environment Questionnaire and Classroom Environment Scale) which have had very little use in prior science education research and, second, it involved assessment not only of student perceptions of actual environment, but also of student perceptions of preferred environments and teacher perceptions of actual environment. Administration of these instruments to a sample of 2175 junior high school students in 116 classes revealed that the environment scales exhibited satisfactory internal consistency reliability and discriminant validity in each of the three forms (student actual, student preferred, and teacher actual), and that there were some fascinating systematic differences between the profiles of environment scale scores obtained for the different forms. In particular, it was generally found that students preferred a more favorable classroom environment then was perceived as being actually present and that teachers perceived the environment of their classes more favorably than did students in the same classrooms.     

数字技术支持的教师学习:研究与项目综述(下)

本文在系统回顾教师知识与教师学习本质的基础上,讨论了数字技术与教师学习活动之间的关系,主张将数字技术的效用描述为教师学习中有目的的一组活动,即：知识建构、分布式认知、社群与沟通以及约定,通过对五个技术支持的教师学习的典型案例,分析了数字技术对教师学习的支持作用。最后指出了数字技术支持的教师学习与专业发展之方向。     

What do individuals in different science groups within a life sciences organization think about genetic modification?

An assessment was undertaken of the attitudes of individuals within the science community towards a program to produce genetically modified cattle for altered milk composition, expectantly allowing for research into the treatment of multiple sclerosis in humans. The majority of respondents to an electronic survey expressed favorable attitudes to the program, thought it beneficial, respected individual freedom and was fair and just and disagreed that it was harmful. A passion for science and having a suitable lifestyle were the most important motivating factors for individuals. Finally, there were a wide range of responses to a number of cultural beliefs or myths. Science grouping significantly affected the responses. Compared with Systems and Land groups, Plant and Reproduction groups more strongly agreed with the project, thought it less harmful to interest groups, felt that genetic modification of animals was more morally acceptable, and more strongly agreed with the myth statements. These results indicate a diversity of beliefs and attitudes towards genetic modification amongst those within the science community, and highlight the importance of understanding ethics and myths in dealing with them. It is suggested that the diversity of beliefs could be better used to help shape public policy and understanding of biotechnology.     

From spontaneous to instrumental behavior: kinematic analysis of movement changes during very early learning

3-month-old infants who can activate a mobile with their spontaneous leg kicks increase their kick rate over baseline. Kinematic analyses of the temporal and topographic characteristics of reinforced leg kicks were compared with those of infants who saw noncontingent mobile movement. In both experimental and control groups, the flexion and extension movement phases of the kick remained remarkably invariant in duration. Pauses between movements varied inversely with rate. Kick amplitude increased with increasing rate except in the extinction phase, where in some infants, kicks became less frequent but more forceful. Movement duration was unaffected by reinforcement condition. By varying amplitude and frequency domains, infants adjusted movement by neuromuscular mechanisms similar to those of mature humans. The experimental imposition of a voluntary component on spontaneous kicking did not alter the modifiability of the movement control parameters.     

The “Autodidact”, the Pursuit of Subversive Knowledge and the Politics of Change

This paper contrasts two types of “autodidact” located in the UK in different historical periods, which utilised different learning/research technologies to different ends. From the 1920s to the 1960s some working-class activists committed to the Communist Party of Great Britain became “educated” in Marxism (and more) through the processes intrinsic to their politics. This radical acculturation was undertaken outside the universities in consequence of both an absence of access to higher education and because of the relatively enclosed social world of British Communism. The widening of educational opportunities and the decline of political Marxism effectively extinguished this kind of autodidact. New technologies have meant that the 21st century is witnessing individuals and cyber-communities that are creating knowledge-based challenges to professional and institutional power in the face of personal/family “medical” crises. The paper outlines the characteristics of these two categories of autodidact and a new terrain of counter-hegemonic learning.     

Intelligence and Neurophysiological Markers of Error Monitoring Relate to Children's Intellectual Humility

This study explored developmental and individual differences in intellectual humility (IH) among 127 children ages 6–8. IH was operationalized as children's assessment of their knowledge and willingness to delegate scientific questions to experts. Children completed measures of IH, theory of mind, motivational framework, and intelligence, and neurophysiological measures indexing early (error-related negativity [ERN]) and later (error positivity [Pe]) error-monitoring processes related to cognitive control. Children's knowledge self-assessment correlated with question delegation, and older children showed greater IH than younger children. Greater IH was associated with higher intelligence but not with social cognition or motivational framework. ERN related to self-assessment, whereas Pe related to question delegation. Thus, children show separable epistemic and social components of IH that may differentially contribute to metacognition and learning.