The etiology of giftedness

Many theories of giftedness either explicitly or implicitly acknowledge the role of genetic influences; yet, empirical work has not been able to establish the impact that genes have specifically on gifted behavior. In contrast, a great deal of research has been targeted at understanding the etiology of individual differences in general and specific cognitive abilities across the entire range of ability and to a lesser extent, high cognitive ability. This paper attempts to outline what we know and what we don't know about the etiology of giftedness as operationally defined as high g. We review studies selected to represent a variety of approaches that each address a different question about genetics and giftedness. These studies include quantitative genetic research which estimate heritability, shared and nonshared family environment – at the high and low ends of intelligence – as well as the heritability of group differences for general cognitive ability and specific cognitive abilities. We discuss the molecular genetic methods and mechanisms contributing to cognitive ability and suggest how epigenetic factors may operate. Quantitative and molecular genetic studies that include endophenotypes representing intelligence at a level closer to the genotype, are also included. This last group of studies represent a relatively new area of work that builds on and extends the extensive groundwork established by classic quantitative genetic studies of behavior.     

Early Childhood Teachers as Socializers of Young Children’s Emotional Competence

Young children’s emotional competence—regulation of emotional expressiveness and experience when necessary, and knowledge of their own and other’s emotions—is crucial for social and academic (i.e., school) success. Thus, it is important to understand the mechanisms of how young children develop emotional competence. Both parents and teachers are considered as important socializers of emotion, providing children experiences that promote or deter the development of emotional competence. However, compared to parents, early childhood teachers’ roles in socializing young children’s emotional competence have not been examined. Based on the findings from research on parental socialization of emotion, in this theoretical review we explore possible teacher roles in the development of young children’s emotional competence. Additionally, we suggest future research focusing on early childhood teacher socialization of emotion, and discuss theoretical and practical benefits of such research.     

Bandpass sorting of heterogeneous cells using a single surface acoustic wave transducer pair

Separation and sorting of biological entities (viruses, bacteria, and cells) is a critical step in any microfluidic lab-on-a-chip device. Acoustofluidics platforms have demonstrated their ability to use physical characteristics of cells to perform label-free separation. Bandpass-type sorting methods of medium-sized entities from a mixture have been presented using acoustic techniques; however, they require multiple transducers, lack support for various target populations, can be sensitive to flow variations, or have not been verified for continuous flow sorting of biological cells. To our knowledge, this paper presents the first acoustic bandpass method that overcomes all these limitations and presents an inherently reconfigurable technique with a single transducer pair for stable continuous flow sorting of blood cells. The sorting method is first demonstrated for polystyrene particles of sizes 6, 10, and 14.5 μm in diameter with measured purity and efficiency coefficients above 75 ± 6% and 85 ± 9%, respectively. The sorting strategy was further validated in the separation of red blood cells from white blood cells and 1 μm polystyrene particles with 78 ± 8% efficiency and 74 ± 6% purity, respectively, at a flow rate of at least 1 μl/min, enabling to process finger prick blood samples within minutes.     

Toward Intentional,Reflective, and Assimilative Classroom Practices with Students with FASD

The value of research-informed classroom practices is well recognized and thus this qualitative study was designed to explore, from multiple perspectives, the experiences and influences of classroom practices for students with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD). The inductive analysis of 11 focus groups and three interviews involving 60 individuals working closely with this student population—31 teachers, seven administrators, 16 allied professionals, and six caregivers—generated three themes: understanding the whole student, responding within dynamic environments, and optimizing student-centered programming. This study provides an essential step toward better-prepared educators for meeting the learning and developmental needs of students with FASD as well as other complex populations. The implications for developing professional learning opportunities reflective of intentional, reflective, and assimilative classroom practices are discussed.     

Organizing, Teaching, and Assessing for Student Success in Introductory College Physics

As part of a doctoral dissertation, Ben （2010） completed a study that extends to 462 pages. After a careful examination of this study and others that are in print, there seems to be a direct relationship between the decline in physics enrollment at the postsecondary level and the increase in the number of studies that have been carried out to determine why have we been off the mark in identifying the real problems that are contributing to the declining enrollment and the decreased student success in physics courses？ One problem is introductory physics books are generally written using a deductive approach, and because the teachers follow the organization of these books, they teach in a deductive, boring, and confusing way, and then, blame the students for being unprepared when they do not succeed. This approach distances the teachers--and physics--from the experience, knowledge, and initial interest of many beginning students. Another problem has been the absence of any alternative curriculum to the deductive one. In this paper, we describe a fully-developed alternative curriculum, really a detailed course design for Introductory College Physics I and II, each with its own text presented in the format of a three-ring binder, one for students and one for teachers which closely parallel one another. The course content is constructed to be both teacher and student friendly, so that a teacher can teach physics in an inductive, exciting, and clear manner. In addition, we describe and provide examples of the pedagogical and classroom management techniques that have proven extremely successful.     

Eating Attitudes and Behaviors Among Female College Students

The authors assessed the influences of several risk factors—self‐esteem, history of unwanted sexual contact (USC), depression, and sorority membership—on eating‐related and weight‐related attitudes and behaviors. Findings provide support for the roles of self‐esteem, depression, and USC on restricting attitudes. According to the authors' model, these independent variables predicted restricting attitudes that then predicted restricting behaviors. Implications for preventive interventions and the study's limitations are discussed.