Willing to play the game: How at‐risk students persist in school

A qualitative case study of 17 high‐school students identified as at risk for dropping out, this research develops a grounded theory describing the process of students' persistence and the support they received from teachers and school administrators. Three interactive factors appear critical to persistence: (a) goal orientation—students' belief they will benefit from graduating, (b) willingness to play the game—students' willingness to follow school rules, and (c) meaningful connections—relationships with teachers who believed students could graduate and provided support and caring. All three factors were present for students who stayed through the school year whereas one or more was absent from the experiences of the students who left school before graduation. The research provides further support for the role of schools in supporting students' persistence and has implications for how schools support students who are struggling to stay in school. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Psychol Schs 43: 599–611, 2006.     

Conditioned inhibition and the UCS-CS interval

The role of temporal factors in the development of conditioned inhibition was investigated in a backward conditioning design. Separate groups of rats received tone CSs either 3 or 30 sec following shock presentations. The CSs predicted the same shock-free interval for both groups. A third group was presented with a random relationship between CS and shock. The CSs were tested by super-imposition on a Sidman avoidance baseline and only the group with a 3-sec UCS-CS interval revealed an inhibitory effect of the CS. These results are in accord with predictions made by the Solomon-Corbit model of acquired motivation and by Denny’s “relaxation” theory of escape and avoidance.     

Free‐choice worksheets increase students' exposure to curriculum during museum visits

The museum visit is an important part of elementary school science teaching. However, a divide exists between teachers, who require curricular accountability, and museums, who emphasize free‐choice exploration. Can a carefully constructed worksheet bridge this divide by providing free‐choice exploration of curricular topics during the museum visit? In the present study, a theoretical framework was constructed to inform the design of worksheets as free‐choice learning devices. This framework was used to analyze the design of an existing museum worksheet. Subsequently, curriculum‐related conversations among school groups visiting a museum were monitored in groups supplied with the worksheet and in control groups without. Overall, the worksheet complied well with design criteria synthesized from the free‐choice learning literature. Furthermore, the use of the worksheet increased the number and diversity of curriculum‐related conversations among school groups during the visit. This study documents that the use of carefully designed worksheets may increase students' exposure to curriculum during a museum visit, and thus may help build better bridges between teacher needs and museum free‐choice identities. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 44: 1389–1414, 2007     

Preschoolers' Ability to Adopt Justice and Care Orientations to Moral Dilemmas

This study examined the moral reasoning that preschoolers use in resolving moral dilemmas. Children's resolutions and justifications were examined with regard to their care orientation and their justice orientation. Thirty-one preschool children participated in the study (18 girls, 13 boys). Children were each read 4 stone containing moral dilemmas and were asked to resolve these dilemmas. The results indicated that children's answers revealed a care orientation or a justice orientation with equal frequency. At times, children could even accept both orientations to the same dilemma. The data analysis also revealed no gender differences in moral orientation. Results are discussed in terms of children's social-cognitive abilities. Educational implications are also raised.     

Managing emotion in a maltreating context: a pilot study examining child neglect

OBJECTIVE: The primary goal of this pilot study was to examine emotion management skills (i.e., emotional understanding, emotion regulation) in children who had experienced neglect and a control group to determine the ways that neglect may interfere with children's emotional development. METHOD: Participants included children 6--12 years of age and their mothers (neglect group, N=24; control, N=24). Participants completed questionnaires and an interview that assessed children's emotional understanding and emotion regulation. RESULTS: Findings indicated that neglected children, compared to their non-maltreated peers, demonstrated lower understanding of negative emotions (i.e., anger, sadness) and fewer adaptive emotion regulation skills. Further, neglected children expected less support and more conflict from mothers in response to displays of negative emotion and reported that they were more likely to attempt to inhibit the expression of negative emotion. CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest that neglect may interfere with the normal acquisition of emotional understanding and emotion regulation skills, highlighting the importance of addressing these skills in the context of clinical intervention with neglected children.     

The concept map as a research and evaluation tool: Further evidence of validity

This study sought further evidence of the concurrent validity of concept mapping as a research and evaluation tool in science education. Specifically, the study examined the extent to which differences exist in the concept maps of advanced college biology majors (N = 25) and beginning nonmajors (N = 25) in the domain of mammals. Furthermore, it explored whether these differences are reflected in the way subjects assign class membership as revealed in a card sorting task. The results indicate that concept maps of biology majors are structurally more complex than those of nonmajors and that differences in the structural complexity and organizational patterns depicted in concept maps are reflected in the underlying dimensions used to assign class membership. Together, these findings suggest that the concept map provides a theoretically powerful and psychometrically sound tool for assessing conceptual change in experimental and classroom settings.     

Campus Strategic Action in the <Emphasis Type="Italic">Fisher</Emphasis> Case: Organizational Stakeholder Advocacy Across the Field of Higher Education

Using a census sampling, this analysis evaluates the campus structures and practices that are predictive of a campus being affiliated with stakeholder legal advocacy regarding the Fisher Supreme Court affirmative action case of 2013. Findings reveal that a campus utilizing selective admissions operated as a sufficient, but not a necessary, requirement to prompt stakeholders to take a legal position in the case. Also, campuses that enrolled and graduated the largest percentages of nonwhite students were inclined to have stakeholders submit amicus briefs advocating support for UT-Austin and the use of race in selective college admissions.     

Grades and Withdrawal Rates in Cell Biology and Genetics Based Upon Institution Type for General Biology and Implications for Transfer Articulation Agreements

General biology courses (for majors) are often transferred from one institution to another. These courses must prepare students for upper division courses in biology. In Colorado, a Biology Transfer Articulation Agreement that includes general biology has been created across the state. An evaluation was conducted of course grades in two upper division biology courses at University of Colorado Denver (UCD) (N = 2129) based upon course grades in general biology and the type of institution where general biology was taken (2-year school, 4-year, in-residence at UCD, Advanced Placement [AP] credit, College Level Examination Program [CLEP] credit, or International Baccalaureate [IB] credit). Students who transferred general biology credits received lower grades in upper division biology courses and withdrew from upper division biology courses more frequently. The root causes for these disparities in student outcomes should be investigated further using demographic data and qualitative data. The study should be expanded to all Colorado institutions to ensure the effectiveness of the Biology Transfer Articulation Agreement.     

Body dissatisfaction,drive for thinness,and self‐esteem in African American college females

Ninety‐five African American undergraduate females who were attending three predominately Caucasian universities were evaluated for body dissatisfaction and drive for thinness as well as on four dimensions of self‐concept (physical, social, academic, and personal competence). The participants were largely middle class, with 78% reporting parental education levels between high school to college graduation. Results indicated body dissatisfaction and drive for thinness at levels commensurate with Caucasian samples. A hierarchial multiple regression found a combination of physical self‐concept, drive for thinness, and personal competence to be highly predictive of body dissatisfaction in this sample. Using this model, an effective psychosocial prevention program that focused on reduction of risk factors (e.g., drive for thinness) and enhancement of protective factors (e.g., satisfaction with physical appearance and abilities, personal efficacy) would be advantageous. It is suggested that prevention programming with African American women occur within a cultural context that may provide further support. That is, it may be beneficial to facilitate a critical evaluation of current social mores, encourage personal value clarification, and enhance individual resilience within a context of cultural pride. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Addressing controversies in science education: a pragmatic approach to evolution education

Science education controversies typically prove more intractable than those in scientific research because they involve a wider range of considerations (e.g., epistemic, social, ethical, political, and religious). How can educators acknowledge central issues in a controversy (such as evolution)? How can such problems be addressed in a way that is ethically sensitive and intellectually responsible? Drawing in part on pragmatic philosopher John Dewey, our solution is politically proactive, philosophically pragmatic, and grounded in research. Central to our proposal is (1) steps toward creating a philosophical “total attitude” that is democratic, imaginative, and hypothetical; (2) a deeper understanding of how scientific theories can be pragmatically true; and (3) an assessment of differing pedagogical approaches for teaching evolution in the classroom.