Marine Aerosol Weathering of Mediterranean Calcarenite Stone: Durability of Ethyl Silicate,Nano Ca(OH)2, Nano SiO2, and Nanostructured Consolidating Products

ABSTRACT

Calcarenite stone samples from a historic building (Bizerte, Tunisia) were collected and treated under different environmental conditions with several consolidating products: alkoxysilane (ethyl silicate), a surfactant-templated novel sol–gel, Ca(OH)₂, and SiO₂ nanoparticles. These were subjected to marine aerosol accelerated aging cycles and studied by several non-destructive tests and techniques to assess the stability of the products. Results show that weathering caused by salt crystallization is not inhibited but it is slowed down due to the enhancement of superficial mechanical properties (surface cohesion and micro-hardness) achieved after one month of treatments application. A high or low relative humidity of the consolidation environment significantly affects the final mechanical and aesthetical physical properties and therefore conditions the durability of the treated substrates, even producing higher damage than observed in the blank specimens, depending on the product.     

An assessment arms race and its fallout: high-stakes grading and the case for slow scholarship

This research questions the impact of assessment on university teaching and learning in circumstances where all student work is graded. Sixty-two students and lecturers were interviewed to explore their experiences of assessment at an institution that had adopted a modular course structure and largely unregulated numbers of internal assessments. Lecturers rewarded student work with grades and controlled study behaviour with assessment. In some situations it was possible to experience hundreds of graded assessments in an academic year. Students were single-minded when it came to grades and would not work without them. These conditions contributed to competition for student attention and a grading arms race between academics and subjects. In this context, the spaces for achieving certain educational objectives, such as fostering self-motivated learners, were marginalised. Both students and lecturers were unsatisfied with this situation, but neither group could envisage radical change. Students were generally happy to accumulate small marks, while being irritated and stressed by frequent grading. Lecturers were aware of better practices but felt trapped by circumstances. The idea of slow scholarship is introduced to encourage a re-think of such assessment practices, support a positive shift in assessment culture and contribute to the theories of assessment.     

Envy and scorn as primary markers of the pervasive antipathy in college football’s rivalry games: the University of Michigan as a representative microcosm

Rivalry games – or derbies – are special. They involve emotions and identities that reach way beyond the playing field. This article submits that the emotional content and normative expression of college football rivalries in the United States are less defined by the respective teams’ actual athletic results in the competition but rather by their institutions’ perceived prestige as well as their social and cultural capital encapsulated by their academic ranking. Fans of the institution that is lower ranked in its academic status display envy towards their opponents representing an institution with higher academic ranking, whereas the latter express scorn for the former. They both hate each other but the nature of their respective hatred differs: envy up, scorn down. The paper analyses a bevy of college rivalries before focusing on two featuring the University of Michigan.     

EFFECTS OF A UNIVERSAL POSITIVE CLASSROOM BEHAVIOR PROGRAM ON STUDENT LEARNING

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of a universal program to promote positive classroom behavior on students’ approaches to learning and early academic skills. Second grade classrooms (N = 39) were randomly assigned to treatment and business‐as‐usual control conditions. Teachers in intervention classrooms implemented the Social Skills Improvement System Classwide Intervention Program (SSIS‐CIP) over a 12‐week period. Participating students’ (N = 494) engagement, motivation, and academic skills were assessed before and after treatment implementation. Results indicated that students with lower levels of engagement and motivation at pretest experienced significant improvement in these areas after exposure to the SSIS‐CIP. Although no significant differences were observed in reading, students receiving supplemental instructional services demonstrated greater gains in mathematics than did their peers in the control condition.     

Incorporating students’ voices in the ‘Lesson Study’ as a teacher-training and improvement strategy for inclusion / La incorporación de la voz del alumnado a la ‘Lesson Study’ como estrategia de formación docente y mejora para la inclusión

An experience of collaborative action research to improve teaching practices from an inclusive perspective is discussed. The aim of the project is to promote teaching practices for compulsory secondary education teachers that facilitate all students’ learning and participation. We have used two strategies as catalysts of change. The first is student participation and the second is teacher collaboration in developing what is called the Lesson Study. Different phases in the action research are discussed, as are the dynamics used. The didactic experience focuses particularly on student participation. The results show the potential of the planning process to help student voices to be heard and taken into account as a way to improve teaching practice and reduce marginalization. Finally, we examine some lessons learned, including conditions and barriers that may limit these processes, as well as challenges.     

Children With Gifts and Talents: Looking Beyond Traditional Labels

This article explored the effects of the labeling that has become commonplace in schools. Theories such as labeling theory, control theory, the Pygmalion effect, and stigma theory provide evidence of the power labeling has to negatively and positively affect children's beliefs about themselves as well as the perceptions others have of them. Renzulli (1977 Renzulli, J. S. 1977. The triad model: A guide for developing defensible programs for the gifted and talented, Mansfield Center, CT: Creative Learning Press.  [Google Scholar]) suggested changing the way we label gifted students, but this has yet to be implemented effectively in the field of gifted education. Here a renewed call for change is advocated, based on similar changes made in special education. Practical strategies are suggested to help children deal with the label of giftedness and to mitigate potential negative effects labeling may have.