The Influence of Metacognitive Training on Preservice Elementary Teachers’ Conceptions of Nature of Science

This study assessed the influence of training in, and use of, metacognitive strategies on the development of prospective elementary teachers’ views of nature of science (NOS). Participants were 49 students (92% female) enrolled in two sections of an elementary science methods course. The sections were randomly assigned to an intervention group and a comparison group. Students in both groups were engaged with explicit‐reflective NOS instruction, which focused on the empirical, tentative, theory‐driven, inferential, and creative NOS. Additionally, students in the intervention group received instruction in, and used, three metacognitive strategies during their engagement with thinking about NOS. The Views of Nature of Science Questionnaire—Form C and the Metacognitive Awareness Inventory were respectively used to assess participants’ views of NOS and metacognitive awareness at the beginning and conclusion of the study. Data analyses indicated that significantly more students in the intervention group explicated more informed views of the target aspects of NOS. Moreover, these substantial changes were coupled with significantly increased Metacognitive Awareness Inventory scores for the intervention group participants. The results point to a relationship between improved metacognitive awareness and the development of informed understandings of NOS.     

The Influence of First‐Hand Testimony and Hearsay on Children's Belief in the Improbable

Children (3.5–8.5 years; n = 105) heard claims about the occurrence of improbable or impossible events, then were asked whether the events could really happen. Some claims were based on informants' first‐hand observations and others were hearsay. A baseline group (n = 56) reported their beliefs about these events without hearing testimony. Neither first‐hand claims nor hearsay influenced beliefs about impossible events, which remained low across the age range. Hearsay (but not first‐hand claims) did influence beliefs about improbable events. Preschoolers expressed greater belief following hearsay, compared to their beliefs following first‐hand claims and compared to the baseline group's beliefs. By contrast, older children expressed less belief following hearsay, compared to their beliefs following first‐hand claims and compared to the baseline group's beliefs.     

Evaluating university performance using reference point based composite indicators

In this paper, we propose the application of a novel methodology to build composite indicators, in order to evaluate university performance. We analyse separately the three basic dimensions of our university system (research, teaching and technology transfer), because we are interested in getting a more accurate vision of each of them. In order to build the composite indicators, we use a multi-criteria analysis technique, based on the double reference point method. One advantage of this technique is the possibility to use reference levels, in such a way that the results obtained are easily interpreted in terms of the performance of the university with respect to these levels. Besides, aggregations for different compensation degrees are provided. In order to illustrate the advantages of this method, it has been applied to evaluate the performance of the public universities of the Spanish region of Andalucía, for year 2008. The results show that the performance of the Andalusian public universities in the teaching block is better than in the research and technology transfer blocks. The application lets us conclude that the methodology offers a warning system to assist in strategic decision making, and the values of the indicators allow us to find fields of improvement in all areas.     

Language effects in international testing: the case of PISA 2006 science items

We investigate the extent to which language versions (English, French and Arabic) of the same science test are comparable in terms of item difficulty and demands. We argue that language is an inextricable part of the scientific literacy construct, be it intended or not by the examiner. This argument has considerable implications on methodologies used to address the equivalence of multiple language versions of the same assessment, including in the context of international assessment where cross-cultural fairness is a concern. We also argue that none of the available statistical or qualitative techniques are capable of teasing out the language variable and neutralising its potential effects on item difficulty and demands. Exploring the use of automated text analysis tools at the quality control stage may be successful in addressing some of these challenges.     

Teachers’ views on causes leading to their burnout

Teaching is a challenging profession sometimes leading to teachers’ burnout: a syndrome of emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation, and reduced personal accomplishment. Burnout effects range from psychological, physical, and behavioural symptoms to increased turnover, which affects students and schools. This study identifies levels of and factors causing Lebanese teachers’ burnout by eliciting their perspectives about the matter. A multiple-case studies design is used; instruments include interviews, researcher’s reflective journal, and questionnaires adapted from the Maslach Burnout Inventory–Educators Survey. Nine teachers who left the profession during the first five years of teaching were interviewed and 92 teachers in service responded to the questionnaire. A cross-case synthesis helped to compare the data between cases in order to discover whether similarities can be found. Triangulation of data is performed through comparing results from each instrument and identifying common categories that are used to address the research questions. Findings show that workload, school environment, coordination/mentoring, classroom environment, and emotional factors are major causes of burnout. This study provided insight on how to identify causes and symptoms of teacher burnout to help prevent the occurrence of the syndrome.     

The impact of technology on the enactment of “inquiry” in a technology enthusiast's sixth grade science classroom

This study investigated the impact of the use of computer technology on the enactment of “inquiry” in a sixth grade science classroom. Participants were 42 students (38% female) enrolled in two sections of the classroom and taught by a technology‐enthusiast instructor. Data were collected over the course of 4 months during which several “inquiry” activities were completed, some of which were supported with the use of technology. Non‐participant observation, classroom videotaping, and semi‐structured and critical‐incident interviews were used to collect data. The results indicated that the technology in use worked to restrict rather than promote “inquiry” in the participant classroom. In the presence of computers, group activities became more structured with a focus on sharing tasks and accounting for individual responsibility, and less time was dedicated to group discourse with a marked decrease in critical, meaning‐making discourse. The views and beliefs of teachers and students in relation to their specific contexts moderate the potential of technology in supporting inquiry teaching and learning and should be factored both in teacher training and attempts to integrate technology in science teaching. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach     

Patient-based benefit-risk assessment of medicines: development,refinement, and validation of a content search strategy to retrieve relevant studies

Introduction:Poor indexing and inconsistent use of terms and keywords may prevent efficient retrieval of studies on the patient-based benefit-risk assessment (BRA) of medicines. We aimed to develop and validate an objectively derived content search strategy containing generic search terms that can be adapted for any search for evidence on patient-based BRA of medicines for any therapeutic area.Methods:We used a robust multistep process to develop and validate the content search strategy: (1) we developed a bank of search terms derived from screening studies on patient-based BRA of medicines in various therapeutic areas, (2) we refined the proposed content search strategy through an iterative process of testing sensitivity and precision of search terms, and (3) we validated the final search strategy in PubMed by firstly using multiple sclerosis as a case condition and secondly computing its relative performance versus a published systematic review on patient-based BRA of medicines in rheumatoid arthritis.Results:We conceptualized a final search strategy to retrieve studies on patient-based BRA containing generic search terms grouped into two domains, namely the patient and the BRA of medicines (sensitivity 84%, specificity 99.4%, precision 20.7%). The relative performance of the content search strategy was 85.7% compared with a search from a published systematic review of patient preferences in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. We also developed a more extended filter, with a relative performance of 93.3% when compared with a search from a published systematic review of patient preferences in lung cancer.     

Christians and Muslims Faced with the Wrath of Abū Marwān al-Yuḥānisī, a Thirteenth-Century “Friend of God”

This article examines the nature of the wrath of Abū Marwān al-Yu[hdot]ānisī, a thirteenth-century Andalusi saint, and the protagonist of the Tu?fat al-mughtarib of al-Qashtālī. I have divided the study into two main parts. The first sets out and analyses various occasions on which the saint committed violent acts against Christians. Two of them died as a consequence of these aggressions. All the cases in this first part took place in the Muslim East during the saint's stay in this area. The second part examines cases of violence committed against Muslim people from al-Andalus. The victims suffered the consequences of the wrath of the saint, although he was not directly involved in the aggressions themselves. The stories are narrated by al-Yu[hdot]ānisī himself, and we do not know whether they really took place. Regarding these manifestations of violence, the hagiographic sources not only justify all the violent acts committed by the saint, murder included, but they present the saint to society as an “example” to follow, and indeed as a “hero”.