Establishing empirical links between high school assessments and college outcomes: An essential requirement for college readiness interpretations

As states evaluate whether they should continue with their current assessment program or adopt next-generation college readiness assessments, it is important to ascertain the degree to which current high school assessments can be used for college readiness interpretations. In this study, we examined the ability of a state assessment to serve as an indicator of college readiness. Empirical evidence is presented summarizing relationships between performance on the standards-based high school assessment and performance in college. Benchmarks were set on the Reading, Mathematics, and Science tests by linking assessment scores directly to grades in college courses. The accuracy of the benchmarks was similar to that of a traditional college admission test. Students who met the college readiness benchmarks earned higher grades in general education college courses and had higher first-year college grade point averages. Implications for states and other stakeholders are discussed.     

Policy critics and policy survivors: who are they and how do they contribute to a department policy role typology?

This paper considers the policy ‘roles’ adopted by teachers enacting policy in a department. It draws on a longitudinal study of two secondary mathematics departments endeavouring to make deep change aligned with a demanding curriculum policy. The study validates aspects of an existing typology, demonstrates the existence of a variety of policy ‘critics’ and adds a category of ‘survivor’ teacher, showing the role can have considerable impact on enactment. The paper argues for an extension to a group construct of ‘policy role’, here at a department level, and shows that as teachers struggle to marry the constraints of the range of policies to which they are subject with the time and effort needed to maintain deeply espoused professional values, an adopted group role can serve either to support or constrain individual teacher efforts.     

Infant Crying Levels Elicit Divergent Testosterone Response in Men

SYNOPSIS

Objective. Lower baseline testosterone (T) among men is generally associated with more sympathetic and nurturant responses to infant stimuli. The effect of exposure to infant crying on men’s levels of T, however, is not well understood. The present study aimed to measure men’s T responses to high and low levels of infant crying. Design. Changes in fathers’ (n = 18) and non-fathers’ (n = 28) salivary T levels from baseline were measured in response to caring for an infant simulator programmed to cry often (high-demand condition) or infrequently (low-demand condition) during a 20-min caregiving simulation. Results. Men exposed to low-demand conditions exhibited significant T reductions from baseline, whereas men in high-demand conditions exhibited increases in T. Compared to men who displayed decreases in T following the caregiving simulation, men who displayed increases in T provided less sensitive care. Conclusions. Results suggest a potential role of high levels of crying in provoking physiological reactions among men that may set the stage for hostile or aggressive responses. More research is needed to illuminate contextual factors that contribute to men’s variable responses to infant crying.     

Application of flipped classroom pedagogy to the human gross anatomy laboratory: Student preferences and learning outcomes

To improve student preparedness for anatomy laboratory dissection, the dental gross anatomy laboratory was transformed using flipped classroom pedagogy. Instead of spending class time explaining the procedures and anatomical structures for each laboratory, students were provided online materials to prepare for laboratory on their own. Eliminating in‐class preparation provided the opportunity to end each period with integrative group activities that connected laboratory and lecture material and explored clinical correlations. Materials provided for prelaboratory preparation included: custom‐made, three‐dimensional (3D) anatomy videos, abbreviated dissection instructions, key atlas figures, and dissection videos. Data from three years of the course (n = 241 students) allowed for analysis of students' preferences for these materials and detailed tracking of usage of 3D anatomy videos. Students reported spending an average of 27:22 (±17:56) minutes preparing for laboratory, similar to the 30 minutes previously allocated for in‐class dissection preparation. The 3D anatomy videos and key atlas figures were rated the most helpful resources. Scores on laboratory examinations were compared for the three years before the curriculum change (2011–2013; n = 242) and three years after (2014–2016; n = 241). There was no change in average grades on the first and second laboratory examinations. However, on the final semi‐cumulative laboratory examination, scores were significantly higher in the post‐flip classes (P = 0.04). These results demonstrate an effective model for applying flipped classroom pedagogy to the gross anatomy laboratory and illustrate a meaningful role for 3D anatomy visualizations in a dissection‐based course. Anat Sci Educ 11: 385–396. © 2017 American Association of Anatomists.     

Beyond the academic precariat: a collective biography of poetic subjectivities in the neoliberal university

The ‘neoliberal turn’ in the higher education sector has received significant intellectual scrutiny in recent times. This scrutiny, led by many established academics working within the sector, has highlighted the negative repercussions for teaching and research staff, often referred to as the ‘academic precariat’ due to their tenuous employment prospects within an increasingly market-driven system. This critique of the modern university can also inadvertently position academics as either resisting or complying with neoliberal governance. This does not adequately account for the nuanced and poetic ways in which professional, personal and gendered subjectivities are formulated, intertwined and negotiated. In this paper we draw on the six overlapping yet distinct narratives of the six female authors, all early-career academics from Australia. We capture and analyse these narratives through collective biography, a qualitative methodology underpinned by the work of Davies and Gannon and others, that helps us to move beyond the ‘good vs. bad’, ‘resistance vs. compliance’ debates about academic life. We identify aspects of our lived subjectivities that offer rupture through poetic and hopeful ways of understanding how academics construct and negotiate their lives.