Preservice early childhood educators’ perceptions of outdoor settings as learning environments

In the context of encouraging the use of natural settings for educational experiences with young children, an exploratory study using survey research and photographs of outdoor settings was conducted to understand how preservice early childhood educators perceive these settings and what educational opportunities, motivations, and barriers they associate with them. Based on the results of 110 participants, this study suggests preservice early childhood educators perceive parks as the most conducive outdoor setting for achieving educational outcomes, specifically structured learning about nature, and that they are more inclined to use maintained outdoor settings than natural outdoor settings. The strongest predictors of intention to use natural outdoor settings were perceived difficulty in using natural settings, participants’ level of nature relatedness, and the degree to which they agreed that experiences in nature were important for young children’s health and wellness. Barriers to address include perceived lack of access to natural settings and safety concerns.     

Continuing education module-maternal calcium intake and metabolism during pregnancy and lactation

Calcium is an essential nutrient during pregnancy and lactation. Calcium contributes to bone development in the fetus and neonate and is considered a critical nutrient. Physiological changes in calcium metabolism occur during pregnancy and lactation. Some women may lose some of their bone density during pregnancy and/or lactation, and then regain it after the cessation of lactation. Implications for childbirth educators include content regarding the topic of calcium in their classes.     

A longitudinal evaluative study of student difficulties with engineering graphics

We have previously reported in this journal that spatial ability influences academic performance in engineering. We have also reported that spatial ability is trainable, and can be increased through instruction focused on using perception and mental imagery in three-dimensional representation. In this article, we present the results of a longitudinal evaluative study of student difficulties with engineering graphics at our university, involving research over a 24-year period. Prior to our intervention, the first-year engineering graphics course at our university had a failure rate of 36% for all engineering students, and failure rates of 80% for African students studying at our university. In terms of outcomes, our study indicates that changed teaching practices have been associated with increased pass rates, which currently average 88% for all students. There is clear evidence that African students no longer experience major difficulties in passing the course. This can be attributed both to changes in teaching methodology, as well as broader contextual changes occurring in South Africa over the period reviewed.

Despite evidence of increased pass rates, our data suggest that there is a continuing relationship between three-dimensional spatial perception and academic performance in engineering graphics, as well as with aggregated first-year engineering marks. For this reason, many students still require academic support. There is also evidence that female students experience difficulties with engineering graphics due to lack of previous technical experience, and use a variety of strategies to overcome their study problems. The most effective appear to be use of peers and friends, and in particular students who had previously taken the course, as mediators of the course content and materials. Those female students who have not taken technical drawing at school level, and female students who do not network with other engineering students, are those at greatest disadvantage.     

Age-related incidence curve of hospitalized Shaken Baby Syndrome cases: convergent evidence for crying as a trigger to shaking

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether there is an age-specific incidence of hospitalized cases of Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS) that has similar properties to the previously reported "normal crying curve," as a form of indirect evidence that crying is an important stimulus for SBS. DESIGN AND SETTING: The study analyzed cases of Shaken Baby Syndrome by age at hospitalization from hospital discharge data for California hospitals from October 1996 through December 2000. PATIENTS: All cases of children less than 18 months (78 weeks) of age for whom the diagnostic code for Shaken Baby Syndrome (995.55) in the International Classification of Disease, Ninth Edition, Clinical Modification was assigned. RESULTS: There were 273 hospitalizations for SBS. Like the "normal crying curve," the curve of age-specific incidence starts at 2-3 weeks, has a clear peak, and declines to baseline by about 36 weeks of age. In contrast to the normal crying curve that peaks at 5-6 weeks, the peak of SBS hospitalizations occurs at 10-13 weeks. CONCLUSIONS: The age-specific incidence curve of hospitalized SBS cases has a similar starting point and shape to the previously reported normal crying curve but the peak occurs about 4-6 weeks later. Of the likely predisposing causes, this pattern is only consistent with the properties of early crying. There are numerous explanations for the lag in the peaks between crying and SBS hospitalizations, including the possibility of repeat shakings prior to hospitalization. The importance of crying as a stimulus to SBS may provide an opportunity for preventive intervention.     

Directed forgetting effects in pigeons: Remember cues initiate rehearsal

Pigeons were trained in a two-choice delayed matching-to-sample task with red and green hues. A brief postsample cue (a vertical or horizontal line) signaled whether the comparison stimuli would be presented or omitted on each trial. Comparison stimuli were always presented following the remember-cue (R-cue) trial, but never following the forget-cue (F-cue) and no-cue trials. In Experiment 1, matching accuracy on F-cue and no-cue trials was equivalent and was considerably inferior to accuracy on R-cue trials. In Experiment 2, the placement of the postsample cue was manipulated. Matching accuracy decreased as the R cue was delayed in the retention interval, but performance in the F-cue condition was not affected. These data indicate that the no-cue condition can function as an implicit F cue and that the R cue can function to initiate and maintain rehearsal.     

Constructing views of science tied to issues of equity and diversity: A study of beginning science teachers

In this study, we examined the discursive and social practices of a teacher educator (the first author) and her eight beginning science teachers in a course on the nature of science and issues of equity and diversity. We focused our investigation on beginning science teachers' views of science and science teaching, as well as the grounds they offered for their views. We organized our discussion of the nature of science, teacher learning, and grounds for views along three dimensions: personal, social, and political. We found that beginning teachers routinely drew from only one of these three dimensions to support their views of the nature of science and ways to represent science to all students. In our implications, we recommend that teacher educators encourage teacher learners to examine personal, social, and political grounds carefully and critically in the process of constructing or revising their views. We argue that attention to these three dimensions of grounds for views will assist beginning teachers in adopting nature of science positions that are broad and complex, that more clearly reflect the goals of equity and excellence, and thus, that hold greater promise for achieving a science education inclusive of all students. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 40: 53–76, 2003     

Teacher‐involved conversations with young children during small group activity

This qualitative study examines the conversations of two preschool teachers with two‐ and three‐year‐old children during small‐group activity settings in two high‐quality child development centers. Using interviews, observations and videotaping of small‐group activities, the conversations are characterized in terms of the kind and function of language, the usage of cognitive demands and the reciprocal nature of these conversations. The findings indicate that teachers use declarative statements primarily to manage instruction and encourage language development. While teachers control most conversations, teacher–child reciprocity is evident and more genuine in authentic, teacher‐guided activities. In both classrooms, the language during small‐group activities is characterized as having low cognitive demands. Teachers and teacher educators need to be more cognizant of their language, including its purpose and opportunities to facilitate cognitively challenging conversations with young children. Recommendations for practice are provided.     

Constructivism: Does your practice match your conceptual framework?

Abstract

Though constructivism has been an epistemology espoused by early childhood educators since the field's inception; defining, understanding, and implementing a constructivist philosophy is challenging. This article includes an overview of constructivism, including the role of the learner and the teacher and the conditions that enhance learning. Also discussed will be distinct challenges that exist in the implementation of constructivism in a higher education setting. Practical strategies that universities have found to overcome these challenges are included.     

Being Fair: Teachers’ Interpretations of Principles for Standards-Based Grading

Knowing that grades can have long-term consequences for students, teachers voice concern about being fair in the grading process. However, their interpretations of fairness are varied and sometimes contradictory. This study looked at how teachers in one standards-based educational system determined secondary students’ grades, focusing specifically on the extent to which they followed a specific set of principles for grading. The results support previous research, and suggest that a better understanding of essential principles is needed for grades to accurately reflect students’ achievement.     

Meeting the needs of children with specific speech and language difficulties

Clinical and diagnostic approaches to special educational needs do not translate easily into educational models. In some cases, these approaches can serve to limit understanding of children's wider needs. Children with specific speech and language difficulties (SSLD) are a case in point. Clear criteria exist for identification, but identification mechanisms may not relate to the child's wider educational needs. This paper addresses the ways that children with SSLD present in mainstream educational settings. The study aimed to identify all Year 3 children with SSLD in two English local education authorities. One hundred and thirty-three children (95 boys and 37 girls were identified). Sixty-five per cent of the children were in mainstream schools, 14.3 per cent in mainstream schools with designated units and the remainder in special schools. Half were at stage 5 of the Code of Practice, with most of the remaining participants at stage 3. Children experienced a wide range of difficulties, in addition to their primary speech and language problems. Patterns of difficulties varied across children, and associations existed between particular forms of language problems and learning and relationship problems. Professionals (teachers, educational psychologists and speech and language therapists) varied in their understanding of the children's needs. The data highlight the range and diversity of the needs of children with specific speech and language difficulties and the need for a multi-professional approach to these children. It is argued that ‘best practice’ for these children must consider the impact of speech and language problems on children's access to the curriculum and their social and behavioural needs. Narrow diagnostic models do not provide the appropriate information to inform educational practice and support inclusive policies.