Stress,coping strategies and academic achievement in teacher education students

University students experience stress, and how they cope with this stress affects their academic achievement. This study examined stress in teacher education students and had three objectives: to describe different degrees of stress and coping styles; to study the relationship between stress, coping strategies and academic achievement; and to examine whether increased age can moderate the effects of stress on academic achievement in 334 university-students. There were three main findings: many students experienced stress and used avoidance coping strategies; the students who were under less stress and engaged less in cognitive avoidance and more in problem-focused coping were also the students who made more academic achievement; and students under more stress performed worse, but with age stress affected performance less. In teacher education students, it is important to recognize and address the harmful effects of stress on well-being and academic achievement, to avoid long-term problems in professional and personal life.     

Change Blindness as a Means of Studying Expertise in Physics

Previous studies examining expertise have used a wide range of methods. Beyond characterizing expert and novice behavior in different contexts and circumstances, many studies have examined the processes that comprise the behavior itself and, more recently, processes that comprise training and practice that develop expertise. Other studies, dating back more than 50 years, have used various recall memory tasks to compare experts and novices. In this article, we describe another method for investigating expertise that has its origin in the study of change blindness, a phenomenon within the field of visual cognition. We demonstrate how an incidental change detection paradigm can be used in the context of introductory physics in a way that allows for inferences regarding the formation of mental representations about physical situations. Possible uses in future learning sciences research are discussed.     

News from the Funding Front: Upcoming Opportunities,Proposals Welcomed

Many life sciences faculty and administrators are unaware of existing funding programs and of the strategies needed for writing an educationally related proposal. We hope to remedy this problem by making the life sciences audience aware of two National Science Foundation programs underutilized by the biology community.This column has been a welcome opportunity to keep the CBE—Life Sciences Education readership aware of national efforts to improve undergraduate education in the life sciences and of ways to become a part of that effort (Woodin et al. 2009 , 2010 , 2012 ; Wei and Woodin, 2011 ). Throughout the years of engagement in the Vision and Change initiative, from the summer of 2007 to the present, the three primary agencies involved, the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), have continually maintained a dialogue with participants through formal and informal conversations, workshops, and meetings. Our shared focus has been on how the life sciences community itself can change biology undergraduate education in order to better reflect and respond to the current educational environment, including the

• rapid advances in the discipline,
• new educational technologies and platforms becoming available,
• evidence developed through research on effective practices in undergraduate education, and
• challenges of accomplishing the necessary changes with the resources available.

As the participants have talked and the funding agencies have listened, it has become clear that many life sciences faculty and administrators are unaware of existing funding programs and of the strategies needed for writing an educationally related proposal. In this column, we hope to remedy this problem (in part) by making the life sciences audience aware of two NSF programs particularly relevant to Vision and Change that appear to be underutilized by the biology community. These are:

• Transforming Undergraduate Education in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (TUES) program (anticipated Spring of 2013 release), and
• Undergraduate Research Coordination Networks–Undergraduate Biology Education (RCN-UBE) program (next deadline is June 14, 2013).

     

Reliability and validity evidence of scores on the Achievement Goal Tendencies Questionnaire in a sample of Spanish students of compulsory secondary education

This study examined the reliability and validity evidence drawn from the scores of the Spanish version of the Achievement Goal Tendencies Questionnaire (AGTQ) using a sample of 2,022 (51.1% boys) Spanish students from grades 7 to 10. Confirmatory factor analysis replicated the correlated three‐factor structure of the AGTQ in this sample: Learning Goals (LG), Social Reinforcement Goals (SRG), and Performance Goals (PG). The AGTQ yields relatively reliable scores for Spanish students. Logistic regression analyses were used to provide additional validity evidence of AGTQ scores on academic success (general, Spanish, and mathematics). Results indicated that general academic success was 15% and 5% more likely every time that scores on LG and PG scales increased 1 point, respectively, although general academic success was 9% less likely every time that scores on SRG scale increased 1 point. These results were similar for Spanish and mathematics. However, the score on the LG scale did not forecast success in both subjects. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Effects of insulin, glimepiride and combination therapy of insulin and metformin on blood sugar and lipid profile of NIDDM patients

In the present study the efficacies of therapy with insulin, sulphonylurea or insulin + metformin on NIDDM patients are compared. One group which was on a definite dose of insulin therapy, but with uncontrolled diabetes was treated by doubling the insulin dose, a second group whose diabetes was not controlled by glibenclamide was switched over to another sulphonylurea viz; glimepiride and a third group whose diabetes was not controlled by insulin therapy was switched over to a combination therapy with insulin +metformin. After recording their initial blood parameters all the groups were treated as above for 3 months, and the parameters were again determined. The fasting blood sugar and serum lipids of the first group were controlled significantly, but the values were far above normal range. However HDL Cholesterol and atherogenic index were near normal range. In glimepiride treated group, none of the parameters showed any amelioration. In the combined therapy group, control of blood sugar and atherogenic index was more or less the same as for group 1, but hyperlipidemia remained slightly above that of the same. From the findings we can infer that in long term diabetes treatment higher doses of insulin and combined therapy with insulin and metformin may be more beneficial than with low doses of insulin or sulfonyl urea alone     

Real moral problems in the use of virtual reality

In this paper, we argue that, under a specific set of circumstances, designing and employing certain kinds of virtual reality (VR) experiences can be unethical. After a general discussion of simulations and their ethical context, we begin our argument by distinguishing between the experiences generated by different media (text, film, computer game simulation, and VR simulation), and argue that VR experiences offer an unprecedented degree of what we call “perspectival fidelity” that prior modes of simulation lack. Additionally, we argue that when VR experiences couple this perspectival fidelity with what we call “context realism,” VR experiences have the ability to produce “virtually real experiences.” We claim that virtually real experiences generate ethical issues for VR technologies that are unique to the medium. Because subjects of these experiences treat them as if they were real, a higher degree of ethical scrutiny should be applied to any VR scenario with the potential to generate virtually real experiences. To mitigate this unique moral hazard, we propose and defend what we call “The Equivalence Principle.” This principle states that “if it would be wrong to allow subjects to have a certain experience in reality, then it would be wrong to allow subjects to have that experience in a virtually real setting.” We argue that such a principle, although limited in scope, should be part of the risk analysis conducted by any Institutional Review Boards, psychologists, empirically oriented philosophers, or game designers who are using VR technology in their work.     

Facilitating adult learning and a researcher identity through a higher education pedagogical process

This empirical study uses auto-ethnography to describe a higher education pedagogical process that facilitated largely doctoral students in preparing their candidacy proposals through the use of specific adult learning principles. Students＇ experiences and points of view of such a learning environment were explored, including： （1） how they contributed to their peers＇ learning; （2） how their peers contributed to their own individual learning; and （3） how the learning environment impacted the process. Key factors identified as pivotal to learning to learn, include creating a learning sanctuary and trusting relationships, engaging in mutual inquiry and the co-construction of meaning, and bridging research theory and practice. These factors enabled students to expand their identities to include a researcher identity and to negotiate deep knowledge at the personal level. Throughout this article, the students＇ points of view are used to elucidate shared and diverse experiences, in addition to supporting conclusions and recommendations for practice and further study.