High School Students’ Learning and Perceptions of Phylogenetics of Flowering Plants

Basic phylogenetics and associated “tree thinking” are often minimized or excluded in formal school curricula. Informal settings provide an opportunity to extend the K–12 school curriculum, introducing learners to new ideas, piquing interest in science, and fostering scientific literacy. Similarly, university researchers participating in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) outreach activities increase awareness of college and career options and highlight interdisciplinary fields of science research and augment the science curriculum. To aid in this effort, we designed a 6-h module in which students utilized 12 flowering plant species to generate morphological and molecular phylogenies using biological techniques and bioinformatics tools. The phylogenetics module was implemented with 83 high school students during a weeklong university STEM immersion program and aimed to increase student understanding of phylogenetics and coevolution of plants and pollinators. Student response reflected positive engagement and learning gains as evidenced through content assessments, program evaluation surveys, and program artifacts. We present the results of the first year of implementation and discuss modifications for future use in our immersion programs as well as in multiple course settings at the high school and undergraduate levels.

Just as beginning students in geography need to be taught how to read maps, so beginning students in biology should be taught how to read trees and to understand what trees communicate. O’Hara (1997 , p. 327)

     

Law and Policy

THE LAW OF PUBLIC COMMUNICATION by Kent Middleton and Bill Chamberlin (New York: Longman, 1988—$34.95)

SEVEN DIRTY WORDS AND SIX OTHER STORIES: CONTROLLING THE CONTENT OF PRINT AND BROADCAST by Matthew Spitzer (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1986—$15.00)

THE TELECOMMUNICATIONS DEREGULATION SOURCEBOOK edited by Stuart N. Brotman (Boston: Artech House, 1987—$60.00)

Besen, two Rand reports on intellectual property

GOVERNMENT INFORMATION: AN ENDANGERED RESOURCE OF THE ELECTRONIC AGE—THE FIRST ANNUAL STATE-OF-THE-ART INSTITUTE ( Special Libaries Assn, 1700 18th St NW, Washington, DC 20009—$21.75, paper)     

Mathematics and science inequalities in the United Kingdom: when elitism,sexism and culture collide

An examination of gender, social class and ethnicity performance and participation patterns in different UK countries shows that inequities occur in relation to gender, class and ethnicity but that the patterns of inequity look quite different in the three domains. Achievement is equal for different genders but many more males take mathematics forward to advanced levels; social class differences persist in both achievement and participation; and ethnicity shows a varied pattern with some groups performing and participating at particularly high levels and some particularly low. This paper identifies some critical issues that we face in making mathematics and science equitable and begins to analyse some of the barriers that stand in the way of students who are female, and from some ethnic and social groups.     

Print Reading in General Education Kindergarten Classrooms: What Does It Look Like for Students At‐risk for Reading Difficulties?

The purpose of this study was to examine the amount of time spent actively engaged in reading sounds, words, and connected text for students at‐risk for reading difficulties in the first formal grade of reading instruction, kindergarten. Observational data of 109 kindergarten students at high‐risk for later reading difficulties were collected during general education reading instruction across the school year. Findings revealed students read orally for just over 1 minute during their reading instruction with approximately equal time spent reading sounds, words, or connected text. Implications of these results for early reading instruction and intervention for students at‐risk for reading difficulties or disabilities are presented.     

Apprentice or Student? The Structures of Construction Industry Vocational Education and Training in Denmark and Sweden and their Possible Consequences for Safety Learning

There is a notable difference in occupational injury rates in the two Scandinavian countries, Sweden and Denmark, with the latter having a 40% higher rate of fatal occupational injuries in the construction industry. This study explored differences in the vocational education and training (VET) systems between Sweden and Denmark that may be important for students’ safety learning and practice during VET. In both countries, students participate in full-time education, and the curriculum includes school-based as well as company- based training. However, during company- based training Swedish students retain their student status, whereas Danish students are employed as apprentices. From a perspective of viewing safety as a social practice developed through interactions of different social and institutional bodies, the analysis points to this difference in employment status as important for their safety practices and also for the teachers’ position to influence safety learning and practices during company-based training. An analysis of interview and survey data focusing on how VET students enact safety ‘knowings’ across learning sites, suggest how different forms of connectivity models in VET promote various forms of safety learning among students.