Did the Recession Impact Student Success? Relationships of Finances,Staffing and Institutional Type on Retention

Economic recessions impact higher education institutions in complex ways. Several analyses have examined the influence of the 2007–2009 recession on tuition, enrollments, revenues, and expenditures, but the connection of these resource allocation patterns to a student success outcome—namely, retention—is limited. This study examined relationships among institutional expenditures, tuition, and staffing patterns on first-year retention rates at private and public institutions in 2007, 2009 and 2011: before, during, and after the economic recession. Private and public institutions increased tuition during this time period and increased expenditures. Expenditures most directly educating students (i.e. instruction) and institutional selectivity were positively associated with retention. However, public and private institutions differed in how they allocated their expenditures. That the findings correspond with past research investigating relationships between resource allocation and retention illustrate principles of the resource dependency theory (Pfeffer and Salancik 1978): institutions impacted by external economic changes, adjust revenues, staffing, and expenditures during economic changes.     

Spatial patterns and memory for locations

Rats obtained food from the tops of vertical poles in a 5 × 5 matrix of locations. On each trial, the baited locations formed one of the two possible exemplars of a checkerboard spatial pattern. During training, locations that had been visited earlier in the trial were indicated by a visual cue. Following training, performance with and without the visual cues was compared. Spatial choices were controlled by the checkerboard spatial pattern. The visual cues enhanced the ability of rats to avoid revisits of locations. However, the visual cues did not enhance control by the spatial pattern, as would be expected if the same spatial memories were involved in avoidance of revisits and coding the location of baited locations.     

The Effect of Online Collaboration on Adolescent Sense of Community in Eighth-Grade Physical Science

Journal of Science Education and Technology - Using a quasi-experimental, nonequivalent pretest/posttest control group design, the researchers examined the effects of online collaborative learning...     

Classification of legal texts by computer

A suite of computer programs has been developed for representing the full text of lengthy documents in vector form and classifying them by a clustering method. The programs have been applied to the full text of the Conventions and Agreements of the Council of Europe which consist of some 280,000 words in the English version and a similar number in the French. Results of the clustering experiments are presented in the form of dendrograms (tree diagrams) using both the treaty and article as the clustering unit. The conclusion is that vector techniques based on the full text provide an effective method of classifying legal documents.     

The Embodied Narrative Nature of Learning: Nurture in School

Learning is participatory and embodied. It requires active participation from both teacher and learner to come together to co‐create shared projects of discovery that allow meaning to unfold and develop between them. This article advances theory on the intersubjective and embodied nature of cognition and meaning‐making as constituted by co‐created narrative units. Learning within embodied narrative episodes incorporate affective, energetic, and intentional components to produce schemas of engagement that structure knowledge and become units held in memory. We examine two cases of nonverbal narrative patterns of engagement between teacher and child within Nurture Group practice, a special pedagogy that attunes to the affects and interests of children. Analysis of these cases reveal patterns that established shared rhythm, affect, and body movement between teacher and child, which, on completion, generated shared joy and learning. Thus, we identify an embodied, co‐created narrative structure of embodied cognition essential for learning and participatory meaning‐making.     

RESEARCH SECTION: Curriculum integration and at‐risk students: a Canadian case study examining student learning and motivation

The combining of subject areas or disciplines, referred to in this article as curriculum integration, has been recognised as being linked to high levels of student motivation and learning. Sheryl MacMath of the University of Toronto, Jillian Roberts of the University of Victoria, and John Wallace and Xiaohong Chi of the University of Toronto discuss the findings of their case study (n = 23 students) based in a Canadian secondary school where an integrated unit on energy was taught to pupils identified as being ‘at risk’ of not completing high school. Teacher and student interviews, classroom observations and surveys were used in the case study to investigate student motivation and learning. Results from the study illustrate that students experienced higher levels of motivation and academic success compared to work on previous units. The authors explore how higher levels of student self‐efficacy were also recorded due to the repetition of content in different classrooms and across different contexts. The authors argue that further research in this area should examine more than student learning and motivation and highlights the need to focus specifically on opportunities for successful academic experiences where student efficacy is increased.     

Acute effects of walking on inflammatory and cardiovascular risk in sedentary post-menopausal women

Biochemical markers of inflammation are emerging as new predictors of risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and may alter acutely with exercise. Few studies have been conducted on the effects of walking on these markers or whether different walking intensities elicit varied effects. As there is growing interest in modifiable lifestyle factors such as walking to reduce CVD risk, these inflammatory responses warrant investigation. The aim of this study was to compare the effects of walking at 50% versus 70% of predicted maximal heart rate on C-reactive protein (CRP), plasma fibrinogen, and triglycerides in sedentary post-menopausal women. Twelve post-menopausal women (mean age 58 years, s +/-6; stature 1.62 m, s+/-0.06; body mass 66.8 kg, s +/-6.2) completed two 30-min treadmill walks in a randomized cross-over design. Fasted blood samples were taken (for the determination of plasma fibrinogen, CRP, and lipids) before, immediately after, and 1 and 24 h after exercise. Triglyceride concentrations decreased from pre-exercise to 24 h post exercise at both walking intensities (time x group interaction, P < 0.05). No significant effects were observed for plasma fibrinogen, CRP, total cholesterol, low-density or high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (time x group interaction, P > 0.05). The results of this study suggest that fasting plasma triglycerides are decreased on the morning after 30 min of brisk walking at either 50% or 70% of maximal heart rate (moderate and vigorous intensity).     

'It's how the story is, really': Response to 2 Types of Narrative in Some Primary Children

This article deals with response to two types of narrative fiction by a group of 4 children aged 9 1/2 to 10 1/2. The children were presented with a realistic text and, later, a fantastic text, and were encouraged to discuss their response to the text, with the teacher present and taking part. Areas particularly selected for discussion were genres and comparisons, structure, motivation, characterisation, the story as virtual experience The discussion revealed a strong sense of genre, though a mixed response. Appreciation of other features of narrative hinged on response to the story as virtual experience, and anecdote and comparison figured largely as tools for discussion.     

Longitudinal Trajectories of Four Domains of Parenting in Relation to Adolescent Age and Puberty in Nine Countries

Children, mothers, and fathers in 12 ethnic and regional groups in nine countries (N = 1,338 families) were interviewed annually for 8 years (M_age child = 8–16 years) to model four domains of parenting as a function of child age, puberty, or both. Latent growth curve models revealed that for boys and girls, parents decrease their warmth, behavioral control, rules/limit-setting, and knowledge solicitation in conjunction with children’s age and pubertal status as children develop from ages 8 to 16 across a range of diverse contexts, with steeper declines after age 11 or 12 in three of the four parenting domains. National, ethnic, and regional differences and similarities in the trajectories as a function of age and puberty are discussed.