Role of comprehension on performance at higher levels of Bloom's taxonomy: Findings from assessments of healthcare professional students

The first four levels of Bloom's taxonomy were used to create quiz questions designed to assess student learning of the gross anatomy, histology, and physiology of the gastrointestinal (GI) system. Information on GI histology and physiology was presented to separate samples of medical, dental, and podiatry students in computer based tutorials where the information from the two disciplines was presented either separately or in an integrated fashion. All students were taught GI gross anatomy prior to this study by course faculty as part of the required curriculum of their respective program. Student responses to the quiz questions were analyzed to assess both the validity of Bloom's cumulative hierarchy and the effectiveness of an integrated curriculum. No statistically significant differences were found between quiz scores from students who received the integrated tutorial and from those who received the separate tutorials. Multiple regression analyses provided partial support for a cumulative hierarchy where scores on the lower levels of Bloom's taxonomy predicted scores on higher levels. Notably, in the majority of regression analyses, the comprehension score was the key foundational predictor for application and analysis scores. This study supports the suggestion that educators increase the number of comprehension level questions, even at the expense of knowledge level questions, in course assessments both to evaluate lower order cognitive skills and also as a predictor of success on questions requiring application and analysis levels of the higher order cognitive skills of Bloom's taxonomy. Anat Sci Educ 11: 433–444. © 2018 American Association of Anatomists.     

Family income, parent education, and perceived constraints as predictors of observed program quality and parent rated program quality

Observed child care quality and parent perceptions of child care quality received by children in poor (below Federal Poverty Line, FPL), low-income (between FPL and 200% of FPL), and non-low-income families were examined. Observations were completed in 359 center- and home-based child care programs in four Midwestern states and surveys were received from 1313 parents whose children were enrolled in these programs. Multilevel structural equation modeling revealed that programs with higher proportions of low-income families tend to have lower observed quality than programs with a higher proportion of non-low-income families. Programs with more educated parents tended to have better observed quality, however, more educated parents tended to have lower perceptions of quality.     

Inquiring minds: theorizing children’s interests

Children’s interests are a common foundation for early childhood curricula. Yet, little research is available about the fundamental nature of children’s interests and analytical ways to recognize and engage with these. Early work on children’s interests adopted a psychological perspective and associated interests with activity choices. Recent work has taken a sociocultural perspective, arguing that more analytical interpretations of children’s interests can occur through a deeper understanding of children’s funds of knowledge from their lives in their families and communities, and their inquiries that result. This paper draws on a qualitative, interpretivist study in two early childhood centres in Aotearoa New Zealand to extend this work and argue that children’s ‘real questions’ are the fundamental source of their interests. The interpretations presented of children’s questions also challenge earlier psychological research that suggested children cannot imagine their future selves until late in the early childhood period. A revised continuum of children’s interests and examples of interpretations of children’s real questions are proffered for further consideration in other early childhood contexts. Further, the paper argues that interests-based curriculum is justifiable in the early years through likely leading to a range of long-term outcomes valued by societies.     

Mother-child bookreading in low-income families: correlates and outcomes during the first three years of life

About half of 2,581 low-income mothers reported reading daily to their children. At 14 months, the odds of reading daily increased by the child being firstborn or female. At 24 and 36 months, these odds increased by maternal verbal ability or education and by the child being firstborn or of Early Head Start status. White mothers read more than did Hispanic or African American mothers. For English-speaking children, concurrent reading was associated with vocabulary and comprehension at 14 months, and with vocabulary and cognitive development at 24 months. A pattern of daily reading over the 3 data points for English-speaking children and daily reading at any 1 data point for Spanish-speaking children predicted children's language and cognition at 36 months. Path analyses suggest reciprocal and snowballing relations between maternal bookreading and children's vocabulary.     

The presence of African American scholarship in early American criminology texts (1918–1960)

This paper reviews the results of a citation analysis conducted to determine the extent of references to African American scholarship in American criminology texts published between 1918 and 1960. The analysis showed that African American graduates from the University of Chicago's “Chicago School”, including Charles Johnson, E. Franklin Frazier, Monroe Work, and Earl R. Moses, were cited most often. They were usually cited in discussions of either race or culture areas and crime. African American scholars' discussions of the effects of social, economic, and political conditions such as slavery, segregation, racism and oppression on crime and criminality, especially among African Americans, were generally not cited. These findings suggest that while claims that African American scholarship cannot be found in mainstream publications might be somewhat overstated as they relate to early American criminology texts, the most important themes found in the writings of African Americans were excluded.     

Perception shapes experience: The influence of actual and perceived classroom environment dimensions on girls’ motivations for science

The classroom environment influences students’ academic outcomes, but it is often students’ perceptions that shape their classroom experiences. Our study examined the extent to which observed classroom environment features shaped perceptions of the classroom, and explained levels of, and changes in, girls’ motivation in junior secondary school science classes across two school terms. Girls have been found to feel less capable than boys and to under-participate in science classrooms, even though their achievement levels are similar. Four teachers and five of their classrooms of students (N = 52) reported their perceptions of the classroom environment, and trained observers rated the ‘actual’ classroom environment. Students also completed questions regarding their motivations for science at both time points. Hierarchical linear modelling showed that students’ perceptions of classroom structure were very important and exerted significant influence on science motivations. All of the six observed classroom dimensions affected students’ extrinsic utility value, via perceptions of structure. Other classroom dimensions showed particular patterns of relationship with motivations. Teachers’ perceptions of the classroom environment were often more positive than those of the students, which is congruent with previous research. The findings have implications for retaining girls in science and, thereby, addressing the gender gap in science-related vocations.     

Commemorating a whole story of woman suffrage

ABSTRACT

To tell the whole story of the struggle for woman suffrage, we need to begin the story well before 1848 and continue it long after 1920. For those teaching about woman suffrage, this essay offers resources that enable you to situate the 19th Amendment within a richer narrative of woman suffrage.     

Cognitive skill performance among young children living in poverty: Risk, change, and the promotive effects of Early Head Start

The purposes of the present study were to examine associations between risk factors and the cognitive performance from one to three years of age of children living in poverty, and to investigate the protective and/or promotive effects of EHS on children's cognitive skill performance. Analyses were conducted using data from the Early Head Start (EHS) Research and Evaluation Project, a prospective study of 3001 children and families living in poverty. There were four main findings. First, children's cognitive skill scores decreased significantly from one to three years of age in comparison to national norms. Second, children whose families were on government assistance, children whose mothers had less than a high school education, children who received lower levels of cognitive and language stimulation at home, and children who had higher levels of negative emotionality evidenced more rapid rates of decline. Third, children in families who received government assistance, children whose parents were unemployed, and children whose mothers had less than a high school education had lower cognitive skill scores at three years of age. Fourth, children who were enrolled in Early Head Start (EHS) had higher cognitive skill scores at three years of age than their peers who were not in EHS. Implications for policy and early education are discussed.