An Experimental Investigation of Social Identification on College Student Organ Donor Decisions

This investigation examined whether persuasive organ donation messages that target individuals’ identification with a salient social group will be more effective in encouraging these individuals to become organ donors than will information-only persuasive messages. Participants were randomly assigned to view one of two pro-organ donation messages, both of which included basic information about organ donation (need, number of registered donors, etc.) while one also targeted social identity. Findings indicate that individuals exposed to a social identification message were more likely to click a link that allowed them to officially register as organ donors. These results offer support for the utility of social identification as a health communication campaign strategy for increasing organ donation.     

Studies on information processing rates in science learning and related cognitive variables. I: Some theoretical issues related to motivation

A neuromathematical model of information processing applied to science learning is exanded to include coefficients representing the motivational state of the learner. Two coefficients be included: (1) an exponential coefficient in the gain function representing largely a change rate of learning associated with varying motivation, and (2) an initial factor in the gain quation change in motivation at the outset of a learning task. The inclusion of these variables permits modeling of the effects of variations in motivation on the rate and amount of information in a larning task.     

“I’m a Computer Scientist!”: Virtual Reality Experience Influences Stereotype Threat and STEM Motivation Among Undergraduate Women

Journal of Science Education and Technology - Women are less likely to choose physical Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (pSTEM) majors, partly because a lack of role models makes it hard...     

THE LONG AND SHORT TERM PREDICTIVE EFFICIENCY OF TWO TESTS OF READING POTENTIAL

A comparision was made of the predictive efficiency of each of two tests in the diagnosis of reading failure over a period of from one to four years. A direct test of reading potential in the form of a word recognition test was shown generally to be more efficient than an indirect test based on neurophysiological indicants. The finding that self concept measures were not consistently related to reading performance was interpreted in terms of the biassing effect of a particular response style.     

Science education: A meta-analysis of major questions

A multi-institutional endeavor was initiated to integrate the findings of extant research studies directed toward the major science education research questions. The research questions were selected by a largely empirical process of identifiying the most frequently researched questions in the literature. These questions were assigned to various researchers who developed coding sheets and procedures with many features in common. This article describes the overall operation of the project, the research questions identified, and some rudiments of meta-analysis. The results of the several meta-analysis are reported in the other articles of this issue of the Journal. The final article in this issue deals with research topics for which data are drawn from one or more of the separate meta-analyses.     

Sensitive educational research in small states and territories: the case of Macau

This paper explores the sensitivities of conducting educational research in small states and territories, where the very act of conducting research, aside from its purposes or focuses, is itself a sensitive matter. The paper takes a ‘critical case study’ of Macau and examines cultural, educational, political, micro‐political, interpersonal and practical issues, overlaid by characteristics of Chinese culture, that must be factored into the planning and conduct of research in the territory. It suggests that compromises and trade‐offs have to be made in educational research in small states and territories, and argues that researchers must anticipate a range of problems in advance, and, through ingenuity, networking and sensitivity, overcome them. The magnification of sensitivities in small states and territories contributes to their special educational ecology; investigating these is frequently an interpersonal as well as a research matter.     

Phenomenographic pedagogy and a revised Approaches to teaching inventory

The Approaches to teaching inventory (ATI) is now being widely used as an instrument for formally monitoring approaches to teaching. A lesser‐known use is as a stimulant for discussion among groups of teachers to raise awareness of the variation in qualitatively different ways of approaching teaching. The phenomenographic origins of the ATI are consistent with these uses in academic development, both formative and summative. Following this increase in use, the validity and utility of the ATI were reviewed in 2003 using data from over 1600 teachers. We now summarize the outcomes of this review and report new results of the tests conducted on an expanded ATI with a further 318 academics. While the revised ATI maintains a focus on the qualitative variation in two key dimensions of teaching (a conceptual change/student‐focused approach and an information transfer/teacher‐focused approach), the number of items in those scales has now been increased. This version enhances those features of the original instrument that helped make it a useful trigger tool in ‘phenomenographic pedagogic’ discussion. Both phenomenographic pedagogy and the development of the ATI are discussed in this paper.