Integrating 3D printing into an early childhood teacher preparation course: Reflections on practice

This reflection on practice describes a case study integrating 3D printing into a creativity course for preservice teachers. The theoretical rationale is discussed, and the steps for integration are outlined. Student responses and reflections on the experience provide the basis for our analysis. Examples and resources are provided, as well as a discussion of lessons learned.     

Dealing with ‘fragile identities’: resistance and refiguring in women mathematics students

Many learners may be successful in mathematics but nevertheless see themselves as existing only on the margins of the practice, or as lacking stability in it – in this sense, they have what can be called a fragile identity. Although this kind of relationship with mathematics is not limited to girls and women, they do appear to express such fragile identities more often or more readily. Drawing on qualitative and quantitative data from undergraduates in three English universities, this paper presents an analysis of the way in which university mathematics is differentially experienced by men and women, and of the part this may play in women’s ongoing narratives of self as mathematicians. It is suggested that some women resist traditional positionings in the mathematics world, drawing on local resources which enable a sense of agency as successful students and a refiguring of their relationships with mathematics.     

The funding-productivity-gender nexus in science,a multistage analysis

This paper contributes to the literature on the observed research funding and scientific productivity gender gap in science. On the basis of very detailed information for a sample of 276 academics at the University of Turin over a ten year period, we develop a robust new model that takes into account the three main stages of the funding-productivity nexus: applying for a grant, successful fund raising and conducting the research, to investigate at which stage the gender gap emerges. In the model, we control for differences – not previously examined together - in the time allocated to teaching, administration and child care, which might moderate the gender effect. Using a Two-Stage Least Square (2SLS) model we control, for selection into funding, endogeneity of career progress and endogeneity of funding success, and find, first, that researchers who apply for grants are active in teaching and administration and show persistent funding application behaviour, but find no evidence of a significant gender bias; second, when we control for application selection, the negative gender correlation with funding acquisition becomes stronger, while teaching is negatively correlated to the amount of funding raised; and, third, controlling for selection and reverse causality, we find that funding is not associated to higher research productivity. At all stages of the funding-productivity nexus we find negative, albeit insignificant, secondary gender effects associated with administrative tasks, but less so with teaching. In the research impact-quality estimations we provide evidence of a ‘motherhood penalty’ for female academics with young children who did not apply for funding (including evidence of a causal effect). In line with the literature, we find that, after controlling for children, female researchers are less productive in terms of publications, but not in terms of research quality or impact.     

Do individuals with autism process categories differently? The effect of typicality and development

This study examined the effect of exemplar typicality on reaction time and accuracy of categorization. High-functioning children (age 9-12), adolescents (age 13-16), and adults with autism (age 17-48) and matched controls were tested in a category verification procedure. All groups showed improved processing throughout the lifespan for typical and somewhat typical category exemplars. However, individuals with autism responded more slowly than matched controls to atypical exemplars at all ages. The results are discussed in terms of potential differences in the type of processing that may be required for categorizing typical and atypical category exemplars. Parallels are also drawn to the results of previous studies on face processing in individuals with autism.     

Teachers’ knowledge and confidence for promoting positive mental health in primary school communities

This paper reports an investigation into Australian primary school teachers’ knowledge and confidence for mental health promotion. Questionnaires were delivered to 1397 teachers. In-depth interviews were held with 37 teachers. Quantitative results showed that half to two thirds of teachers felt efficacious and knowledgeable about selected components of mental health promotion. Independent judgments by staff about students’ mental health status concurred with students’ scores on the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire in about 75% of cases, indicating a good level of staff awareness about students’ mental health status. Exposure to the KidsMatter Primary mental health promotion initiative was associated with improvements in teachers’ efficacy, knowledge and pedagogy, with small to medium effect sizes. Qualitative analysis indicated that teachers’ subject-matter and pedagogical knowledge were heavily reliant on curriculum resources. Implications of the findings for the implementation of school-based mental health promotion initiatives are discussed.