The education of academically gifted students in South Korea: Innovative approaches in shadow education

Shadow education contributes to the learning and academic careers of Korean students. It benefits, in particular, gifted students who are strongly motivated and who outperform their peers academically. In this study, we explored the innovative characteristics of shadow education curricula for gifted students in terms of curricular programmes, methods, and teaching-learning materials. Also, we explored how shadow education practices meet the academic abilities and needs of students. Informed by a literature review and qualitative research methods, the results reveal how common shadow education is; effects of shadow education; and innovative elements used in shadow education for gifted students in Korea. Overall, we found that shadow education plays a crucial role in gifted education; it is a necessary component for understanding academic excellence among students in Korea. The findings are helpful for teachers, curriculum developers, and policymakers as they explore how public schooling can help to support strongly motivated and academically advanced students.     

Electric charge-mediated coalescence of water droplets for biochemical microreactors

This work proposes the use of charged droplets driven by the Coulombic force as solution-phase reaction chambers for biological microreactions. A droplet can be charged near an electrode under dc voltage by direct contact to the electrode. This process is called electrical charging of droplet (ECOD). This charged droplet can then be transported rapidly between electrodes following the arc of an electric field line by exploiting electrostatic force. As on-demand electrocoalescence, both alkalization of phenolphthalein and bioluminescence reaction of luciferase in the presence of adenosine triphosphate are studied to test the feasibility of the biochemical microreactors using ECOD. Two oppositely charged droplets are merged to have a color change immediately after microchemical reaction. The applicability of an ECOD-driven droplet to measurement of glucose concentration is also tested. The glucose concentration is measured using a colorimetric enzyme-kinetic method based on Trinder’s reaction [J. Clin. Pathol. 22, 158 (1969)]. The color change in the merged droplet is detected with an absorbance measurement system consisting of a photodiode and a light emitting diode.     

Exploring the forward citation patterns of patents based on the evolution of technology fields

Forward citations of patents have been used extensively to capture the impact of technological knowledge. However, our understanding of the factors shaping patent citation patterns remains limited. One of the main limitations is the lack of scholarly attention paid to the dynamic influences arising from the evolution of technology fields. From an evolutionary perspective, technological impact is not simply determined by the static attributes of a technology itself; it is also dynamically affected by changes in the external conditions. Drawing on this viewpoint, this study suggests a model for understanding patent citation patterns by reflecting the evolution of the technology fields to which each patent belongs. Four such factors are explored: technology cycle time, potential of technological convergence, popularity of the technology field, and technological novelty. Based on the proposed model, we show how expected citation patterns can change as a result of different scenarios for technology field evolution. We conduct a case study of patents in the information technology and healthcare industries to show citation patterns of patents across heterogeneous industries as well as those within an industry. Contributions to the innovation literature and research investment decisions are discussed.     

Routinizing a New Technology in the Newsroom: Twitter as a News Source in Mainstream Media

This study examined how news organizations employed Twitter as a news source, based on information subsidy and gatekeeping perspectives. News content analysis from 7 major media entities in 2010–2011 demonstrated that journalists embraced Twitter as a new channel for information gathering. TV frequently cited Twitter as a sole or a primary source. However, despite active usage of Twitter overall, journalists in both TV and newspapers maintained conventional routines by relying primarily on Twitter accounts of official sources. The popularity of Twitter accounts, as indicated by the number of followers, did not contribute to attracting more attention from journalists.     

Agenda-setting and the internet: The intermedia influence of internet bulletin boards on newspaper coverage of the 2000 general election in South Korea

The purpose of this study was to explore the intermedia influence of the Internet on traditional news media. Accordingly, this study examined the influence of Internet bulletin boards on newspaper coverage of the 2000 general election in South Korea at both first and second levels of agenda-setting through content analyses of major newspapers and the Internet bulletin boards during the campaign. Results of cross-lagged correlation analyses showed that newspapers influenced Internet bulletin boards at the first level of agenda-setting. Additionally, at the second level of agenda-setting, the influence of Internet bulletin boards on newspapers was found. Although reciprocity appeared in a few time spans, the results imply that the Internet funnels and leads public opinion as well as affecting the coverage of other media.     

Social Media Type Matters: Investigating the Relationship Between Motivation and Online Social Network Heterogeneity

This study investigated relationships between social media motivation, relative preferences for social media type, and network heterogeneity, using a U.S. national survey. By classifying social media into the symmetrical and the asymmetrical, we showed that relationship motivation was more likely to be associated with a preference for the symmetrical type, whereas information motivation with a preference for the asymmetrical. Network heterogeneity was positively predicted by relationship motivation but not by information motivation. Finally, a relative preference for the symmetrical type was found to mediate the association between relationship motivation and network heterogeneity.     

Interventions and Adaptations for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder in Inclusive Early Childhood Settings

The inclusive education of children with disabilities is considered best practice, yet many early childhood educators feel unprepared to deliver appropriate instruction for children with disabilities and often require supports to successfully meet the children’s unique needs. Young children experiencing autism spectrum disorder are being diagnosed at a young age and they are commonly receiving their education within inclusive early childhood settings. This article presents two methods to meet the needs of children with autism spectrum disorder. First, early childhood educators can provide interventions tailored to the children’s learning needs. Second, educators can adapt the environment, materials, activity, instruction, and assistance they provide so that each child is appropriately supported, while still being encouraged to succeed as independently as possible. This article summarizes research-based interventions and adaptations that early childhood educators can implement within inclusive settings to meet the diverse needs of young children with autism spectrum disorder and presents a case study to describe how these practices can support young children with autism spectrum disorder within inclusive settings.     

Students’ perceptions of classroom instructional environments in the context of ‘Universal Design for Learning’

Using a sample of 867 students in Grades 5–12, the present study investigated whether students’ perceptions toward the instructional environment in classrooms that employed Universal Design for Learning differed by school grade level and teacher gender. High-school students in the study showed higher perception scores than upper-elementary or middle-school students in the personalisation and participation aspect of the classroom environment. The results for teacher gender indicated that students in the study perceived a more personalised classroom environment with female teachers than with male teachers. Policy implications and methodological considerations are provided for future study.     

Educational effects of the Tools of the Mind curriculum: A randomized trial

The effectiveness of the Tools of the Mind (Tools) curriculum in improving the education of 3- and 4-year-old children was evaluated by means of a randomized trial. The Tools curriculum, based on the work of Vygotsky, focuses on the development of self-regulation at the same time as teaching literacy and mathematics skills in a way that is socially mediated by peers and teachers and with a focus on play. The control group experienced an established district-created model described as a “balanced literacy curriculum with themes.” Teachers and students were randomly assigned to either treatment or control classrooms. Children (88 Tools and 122 control) were compared on social behavior, language, and literacy growth. The Tools curriculum was found to improve classroom quality and children's executive function as indicated by lower scores on a problem behavior scale. There were indications that Tools also improved children's language development, but these effects were smaller and did not reach conventional levels of statistical significance in multi-level models or after adjustments for multiple comparisons. Our findings indicate that a developmentally appropriate curriculum with a strong emphasis on play can enhance learning and development so as to improve both the social and academic success of young children. Moreover, it is suggested that to the extent child care commonly increases behavior problems this outcome may be reversed through the use of more appropriate curricula that actually enhance self-regulation.