Evaluating the Effectiveness of Integrating Food Science Lessons in High School Biology Curriculum in Comparison to High School Chemistry Curriculum

Historically, high school chemistry has been the predominate venue for the introduction of food science curriculum to students. With the current decline in chemistry as a required course for graduation, the possibility of exposure to food science in high school could equally decline. The purpose of this research was to determine if high school students in a biology class without a chemistry background could comprehend eight basic food science principles equally as well as students in a chemistry class that were taught the same principles. This study assessed baseline knowledge of high school students, determined the effect of food science‐based lessons on baseline knowledge and level of understanding, and determined the effect of food science‐based lessons on students’ awareness of and interest in food science. Baseline knowledge and awareness of food science was low. Food science‐based instruction resulted in higher posttest scores. Results indicated no differences in students’ knowledge base and level of understanding between biology and chemistry classes and supported the idea of further incorporating a food science curriculum into high school biology.     

Integrating evidence-based reading practices into middle-school content instruction: exploring a facet of sustainability

Reading comprehension models are being implemented in content-area settings to boost reading achievement. Yet, little research explores how such models are incorporated into teachers’ daily instructional practice. The authors used extended observations and interviews to examine the integration of Collaborative Strategic Reading (CSR), an evidence-based reading comprehension model, into the instructional practices of 15 middle school science, social studies, and language arts teachers. Findings indicated that high-integration teachers embedded CSR lessons into their curriculum and reinforced CSR strategy use throughout the week. These teachers also felt supported in their efforts by colleagues and school administrators. There is much to be learned from the ways in which teachers engage in the art of integrating new methods into their teaching.     

Exploration of a Blended Learning Approach to Reading Instruction for Low SES Students in Early Elementary Grades

This study investigated the potential benefits of a blended learning approach on the reading skills of low socioeconomic status students in Grades 1 and 2. Treatment students received English language arts instruction that was both teacher-led and technology-based. Comparisons were made with control students who received the same English language arts instruction without the blended learning component. Results showed significantly greater pretest/posttest gains on a standardized reading assessment for the treatment students compared to the control students. The greatest discrepancy occurred in reading comprehension. A sub-analysis of low-performing English language learner students in the treatment group revealed the largest reading gains. At posttest, these students performed at the level of non-English language learner students in the control group. Results indicated a blended learning approach can be effective in enhancing the reading skills of low socioeconomic students.     

Meeting in the circle: examining identity,attitudes, and pedagogy in the context of an early childhood teacher education program in the United States

As a team of teacher educators at a university in the United States, we engage in participatory action research to reflect on how reflective tools which we design engage teacher candidates (TCs) in their reflecting on teaching. In this paper, we describe how we invite TCs to write in-class reflections, respond to self-assessment probes, and practice problem-solving processes. We critically analyze our approaches and identify further intentional approaches to promote university students’ understandings of (1) links between the self and working with children and families and (2) connections between attitudes and pedagogy towards social justice and inclusion. We conclude that we must continue to explore how the teaching practices we use affect students’ understandings of social justice in education. Doing so demands our focus on examining attitudes through self-reflection among and between faculty and university students so that identity, relationships, attitudes, inclusion, and social justice are prioritized as pillars of curriculum in early childhood education at all levels of schooling.     

Exploring women faculty's experiences and perceptions in higher education: the effects of feminism?

This study analyses women faculty's discourse about feminism, themselves, and their professional experiences as scholars in the North American university context. This case study pushes at the boundaries of what we believe we know about ‘the gender question' in the academy, opening a discursive space for scholars to examine university policies and practices. Poststructuralist emphasis on the complexity and changing nature of power relations offer a framework that makes sense of the ways in which women are simultaneously affected by power relations and engage in power relations. I use feminist poststructuralist discourse analysis to analyse women's talk about their experiences in order to carve a path for moving beyond the deconstruction of discourse in order to unpack how it marginalises and silences women, even within and to themselves.     

Validity and feasibility of an obstacle course to assess fundamental movement skills in a pre-school setting

Failure to master age-appropriate fundamental movement skills (FMS) at a young age can limit motor skill competence affecting health. Assessments often have issues with feasibility and implementation in a field setting. As such, the purpose of this study was to investigate the validity and feasibility of the Athletic Skills Track (AST), in a pre-school setting. For the validation study sixty-five 3–6 year old children (25 boys and 40 girls) from five pre-schools across Adelaide, Australia participated. Correlations and linear regression analysis (adjusted for age and gender) were used to investigate the association between the time to complete the AST and the raw score of the Test of Gross Motor Development 2 (TGMD-2). For the feasibility study pre-school staff completed a semi-structured interview regarding the feasibility of the AST. The AST took less than a minute per child and the TGMD-2 around 20 minutes for two children. There was a strong negative correlation (r = ?0.63, p < 0.01) between the AST scores and the TGMD-2 scores. All five staff reported strengths of the AST to be its short administration time, setup and appropriateness. These results suggest that the AST could be a feasible and valid method of FMS assessment in Australian pre-schools.     

Evidence for Common Etiological Influences on Early Literacy Skills in Kindergarten

Understanding how the etiology of print awareness and phonological awareness are related to the etiology of decoding can provide insights into the development of word reading. To address this issue, we examined the degree of overlap among etiological influences of prereading skills in 1,252 twin pairs in kindergarten. Genetic, shared environmental, and nonshared environmental factors were significant for all three literacy phenotypes. The majority of genetic and shared environmental influence on decoding was due to common factors that included print awareness and phonological awareness. Notably, only a single genetic factor contributed to all three literacy phenotypes, but there was additional shared environmental influence common to phonological awareness and decoding. Findings suggest commonalities in the etiology of prereading literacy skills that could inform work on the development of reading skill.     

A post-crisis discourse of renewal: the cases of malden mills and cole hardwoods

This investigation employed two case studies of post-crisis discourse to describe an alternative to apologia as the primary rhetorical stance following organizational crisis. The authors identify three themes of this discourse; strong commitment to stakeholders, an immediate and unequivocal commitment to rebuild, and crisis as an opportunity for renewal. Conclusions are offered regarding the directionality of post-crisis discourse, crisis as a force for organizational renewal, the importance of emphasizing possibilities over issues of cause, blame, and culpability and the role of C.E.O. discourse in framing the meaning of crisis. Implications for enactment, for image restoration theory, and for improved crisis management are offered.     

The Effect of Goal-Line Presentation and Goal Selection on First-Grader Subtraction Fluency

Math proficiency is related to math calculation fluency. Explicit timing provides repeated practice for math fluency. It is enhanced through goal setting, graphic feedback, and rewards. Self-selected goals have potential to increase performance for math fluency. This study compared the effect of goal lines, and researcher goals versus self-selected goals. The authors compared three groups: (a) researcher-selected goals only, (b) researcher-selected goals with goal lines, and (c) self-selected goals with goal lines. First-grade students completed subtraction probes and colored in a bar graph with their performance. When participants met or exceeded their goals, participants received rewards twice per week. Results indicated that the researcher-selected goals with goal lines procedures with explicit timing had the greatest effect on subtraction fluency for first-grade students. The researcher-selected goals with goal lines and self-selected goals with goal lines groups outperformed the researcher-selected goals-only group.