Understanding Scale: Powers of Ten

The classic film “Powers of Ten” is often employed to catalyze the building of more accurate conceptions of scale, yet its effectiveness is largely unknown. This study examines the impact of the film on students’ concepts of size and scale. Twenty-two middle school students and six science teachers participated. Students completed pre- and post-intervention interviews and a Scale Card Sorting (SCS) task; all students observed the film “Powers of Ten.” Experienced teachers’ views on the efficacy of the film were assessed through a short written survey. Results showed that viewing the film had a positive influence on students’ understandings of powers of ten and scale. Students reported that they had more difficulty with sizes outside of the human scale and found small scales more difficult to conceptualize than large scales. Students’ concepts of relative size as well as their ability to accurately match metric sizes in scientific notation to metric scale increased from pre- to post-viewing of the film. Experienced teachers reported that the film was a highly effective tool. Teachers reported that the design of the film that allowed students to move slowly from the human scale to the large and small scales and then quickly back again was effective in laying the foundation for understanding the different scales. This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grants No. 0411656 and 0507151.     

Racial Categorization Predicts Implicit Racial Bias in Preschool Children

This research investigated the relation between racial categorization and implicit racial bias in majority and minority children. Chinese and Indian 3- to 7-year-olds from Singapore (N = 158) categorized Chinese and Indian faces by race and had their implicit and explicit racial biases measured. Majority Chinese children, but not minority Indian children, showed implicit bias favoring own race. Regardless of ethnicity, children's racial categorization performance correlated positively with implicit racial bias. Also, Chinese children, but not Indian children, displayed explicit bias favoring own race. Furthermore, children's explicit bias was unrelated to racial categorization performance and implicit bias. The findings support a perceptual–social linkage in the emergence of implicit racial bias and have implications for designing programs to promote interracial harmony.     

A Long-Term Effect of Perceptual Individuation Training on Reducing Implicit Racial Bias in Preschool Children

This study tracked the long-term effect of perceptual individuation training on reducing 5-year-old Chinese children's (N = 95, M_age = 5.64 years) implicit pro-Asian/anti-Black racial bias. Initial training to individuate other-race Black faces, followed by supplementary training occurring 1 week later, resulted in a long-term reduction of pro-Asian/anti-Black bias (70 days). In contrast, training Chinese children to recognize White or Asian faces had no effect on pro-Asian/anti-Black bias. Theoretically, the finding that individuation training can have a long-term effect on reducing implicit racial bias in preschoolers suggests that a developmentally early causal linkage between perceptual and social processing of faces is not a transitory phenomenon. Practically, the data point to an effective intervention method for reducing implicit racism in young children.     

Judging a Book by Its Cover: Children's Facial Trustworthiness as Judged by Strangers Predicts Their Real-World Trustworthiness and Peer Relationships

This longitudinal research examined whether children's facial trustworthiness as judged by strangers can predict their real-world trustworthiness and peer acceptance. Adults (Study 1) and children (Study 2) judged the facial trustworthiness of 8- to 12-year-old children (N = 100) solely based on their photographs. The children's classmates were asked to report their real-world trustworthiness and peer acceptance. Children's facial trustworthiness reliably predicted these outcomes both initially when the photographs were taken, as well as 1 year later, and this effect was mediated by the initial ratings of real-world trustworthiness and peer acceptance. These results provide evidence for a long-lasting linkage between children's facial and real-world trustworthiness.     

Enhancing Phonological Awareness and Letter Knowledge in Preschool Children with Down Syndrome

This study investigated the effectiveness of a phonological awareness intervention for 4‐year‐old children with Down syndrome. Seven children with Down syndrome who attended an early intervention centre participated in the intervention. Their performance on measures of phonological awareness (initial phoneme identity), letter name and sound knowledge, and print concepts pre‐intervention and post‐intervention, was compared with that of a randomly selected group of age‐matched peers with typical development. The intervention involved print referencing techniques whereby the children’s parents were instructed to bring the children’s attention to targeted letters and sounds within words and to draw their attention to the initial phonemes in words during daily shared book reading activities. The intervention was presented for a 6‐week period. The results indicated a significant treatment effect on phonological awareness and letter knowledge for the children with Down syndrome. Additionally, above‐chance performance on the initial phoneme identity task was contingent on letter knowledge of the particular phoneme. Individual profiles of the children with Down syndrome pre‐intervention and post‐intervention are presented, and implications for the management of preschool children approaching the age of integration into mainstream primary schools are discussed.     

Reading is fundamental

The preschool children who come to your day school may not be able to read yet. But the earlier they become acquainted with books, the greater are their chances of becoming readers.Gail Oerke is a staff writer at Reading is Fundamental.     

The development of distrust

Preschool-age children's reasoning about the reliability of deceptive sources was investigated. Ninety 3- to 5-year-olds watched several trials in which an informant gave advice about the location of a hidden sticker. Informants were either helpers who were happy to give correct advice, or trickers who were happy to give incorrect advice. Three-year-olds tended to accept all advice from both helpers and trickers. Four-year-olds were more skeptical but showed no preference for advice from helpers over trickers, even though they differentiated between helpers and trickers on metacognitive measures. Five-year-olds systematically preferred advice from helpers. Selective trust was associated with children's ability to make mental state inferences.     

Science Instructors’ Perceptions of the Risks of Biotechnology: Implications for Science Education

Developing scientifically literate students who understand the socially contextualized nature of science and technology is a national focus of science education reform. Science educators’ perceptions of risks and benefits of new technologies (such as biotechnology) may shape their instructional approaches. This study examined the perceived risk of biotechnology of four groups of science educators: pre-service science teachers, in-service science teachers, biology graduate teaching assistants, and biology professors (n = 91). Data sources included a survey instrument and card sort task designed to determine the respondents’ structure of risk perception and factors contributing to this structure. The perceptions of the four educator groups were compared and contrasted along these dimensions. Results showed that the teacher groups were similar along many aspects of risk perception, but university professors were more likely to view the more subtle “gray areas” between biotechnology risks. The results are discussed in the context of understanding teacher risk perception on science pedagogical practice as well as the role of content knowledge and teaching experience on risk perception formation.