Fish Oil Supplementation in Pregnancy and Neurodevelopment in Childhood—A Randomized Clinical Trial

A double-blind randomized controlled trial of n-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid (n-3 LCPUFA) supplementation or matching placebo during third trimester of pregnancy was conducted within the COPSAC₂₀₁₀ mother-child cohort consisting of 736 women and their children. The objective was to determine if maternal n-3 LCPUFA pregnancy supplementation affects offspring neurodevelopment until 6 years. Neurodevelopment was evaluated in 654 children assessing age of motor milestone achievement, language development, cognitive development, general neurodevelopment, and emotional and behavioral problems. Maternal n-3 LCPUFA supplementation during pregnancy improved early language development and reduced the impact of emotional and behavioral problems. The n-3 LCPUFA supplementation was in boys associated with the earlier achievement of gross motor milestones, improved cognitive development, and a reduced impact of emotional and behavioral problems.     

Determining the level of inquiry in teachers' questions

The purpose of this investigation was to determine if an instrument, originally designed to classify levels of teachers' questions on the basis of logical operations, could be utilized to measure the level of inquiry present in a classroom discussion and to determine if the inquiry questioning behavior of the teacher influenced student achievement. The results of the study show that the modified classification scheme could accurately and reliably measure the inquiry level of teachers' classroom questions. The data also indicated that teachers who ask a greater proportion of high inquiry questions cause a greater change in students as measured by an achievement examination.     

The Use of Telidon in Canada

Telidon is the result of the marriage between a computer and a telephone. There are multiple configurations that can be devised with its constituent elements: a TV monitor, a keyboard or keypad; a decoder; a telephone signal, wired or wireless; and a computer.     

Berlin Film Week

From 12 to 16 March 1979 the 15th International Week of Educational and Teaching Films took place at the AV-Centre Berlin (West), a centre for audio-visual media. About 100 visitors from 17 different member count everybody the opportunity to select films according to his particular interests. However, how should a reporter go about trying to give a comprehensive impression of the Film Week? What I did was to talk to as many visitors as possible, compare their remarks and comments, and try to formulate some results.     

Curriculum Reform and the Legitimation of Educational Objectives: the case of the Federal Republic of Germany

Abstract

Taking the political and scholarly debates about curriculum reform in the Federal Republic of Germany as a case in point, the article develops the notion of ‘compensatory legitimation’ as a theoretical construct for better understanding the political dynamics of making and implementing educational policy under conditions of conflict. Among various strategies of compensatory legitimation, special attention is given to the recourse to legal and constitutional norms, the utilisation of expertise, and the invocation of the discourse of participation.

     

FROM PISA TO EDUCATIONAL STANDARDS: THE IMPACT OF LARGE-SCALE ASSESSMENTS ON SCIENCE EDUCATION IN GERMANY

The German education system does not traditionally rely on standardized testing. However, when the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) study revealed an average performance of German students compared to other participating countries, a particular proportion of low-performing students, and remarkable disparities between the federal states, German policy makers decided for a major reform of the education system. A core piece of this reform was the introduction of National Education Standards. For science education, these standards were heavily influenced by the PISA results and its underlying framework. That is, with the standards, a paradigm shift took place from the German notion of Bildung towards the Anglo-American notion of literacy. With the introduction of these standards, a new field of empirical educational research was created: research on models of scientific literacy or competency models as a basis of benchmarking the standards. This article describes the German education system before PISA, summarizes the major findings from PISA, and describes how these findings informed the formulation of the performance standards for science education. It also details the measures undertaken to benchmark these standards. Finally, it provides insight into the issues with developing and benchmarking performance standards and points out future areas of research on evidence-based decision making in educational policy.