The role of cognitive factors in chemistry achievement

Evidence from the research literature suggests that a variety of cognitive factors is responsible for chemistry achievement. This investigation examined the role of four cognitive factors, namely, formal reasoning ability, prior knowledge, field dependence/ independence, and memory capacity on achievement in chemistry as measured by tests of laboratory application, chemical calculations and content knowledge. The sample comprised grade 11 students from eleven high schools who were following the same chemistry syllabus. The results indicated that prior knowledge and formal reasoning ability were each statistically significantly related to variation in chemistry achievement. Field dependence/independence and memory capacity played no significant role in chemistry achievement.     

Contemporary Scientists and their Interactions with Non-Scientists: Alternative Companion Stories for School Curricula

Research in Science Education - Students learn more than science knowledge in a science classroom; they also acquire important messages about the purposes and contexts of science. Roberts (2011)...     

Search for Symbol Sense Behavior: Students in Upper Secondary Education Solving Algebraic Physics Problems

Research in Science Education - Students in upper secondary education encounter difficulties in applying mathematics in physics. To improve our understanding of these difficulties, we examined...     

Inter-Parietal White Matter Development Predicts Numerical Performance in Young Children

In an effort to understand the role of interhemispheric transfer in numerical development, we investigated the relationship between children's developing knowledge of numbers and the integrity of their white matter connections between the cerebral hemispheres (the corpus callosum). We used diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) tractography analyses to test the link between the development of the corpus callosum and performance on symbolic and non-symbolic numerical judgment tasks. We were especially interested in the interhemispheric connections of parietal cortex in 6-year-old children, because regions of parietal cortex have been implicated in the development of numerical skills by several prior studies. Our results revealed significant structural differences between children and adults in the fibers of the corpus callosum connecting the left and right parietal lobes. Importantly, these structural differences were predictive of individual differences among children in performance on numerical judgment tasks: children with poor numerical performance relative to their peers exhibited reduced white matter coherence in the fibers passing through the isthmus of the corpus callosum, which connects the parietal hemispheres.     

Comparing active delay and procrastination from a self-regulated learning perspective

Researchers have proposed that the act of postponing academic work may be divided into a traditional definition of procrastination, viewed as maladaptive, and adaptive forms of delay. Adaptive forms of delay may be more consistent with certain facets of self-regulated learning. The current study investigated this issue by examining whether the relations between aspects of self-regulated learning and active delay may be distinct from the relations these aspects of self-regulated learning have with procrastination. Among 206 undergraduates, procrastination was positively predicted by mastery-avoidance goals and negatively by metacognitive strategy usage, whereas active delay was negatively predicted by avoidance goals and positively by self-efficacy. Furthermore, students who reported higher levels of active delay also received better grades. These findings provide support that active delay is a distinct form of delay from procrastination that may be more positive due to its associations with some adaptive self-regulatory processes and academic achievement.     

Children’s Perspectives on Their Everyday Lives in Child Care in Two Cultures: Denmark and the United States

The purpose of this study was to investigate young children’s perspectives related to their experiences in child care. Researchers used individual interviews and drawings in an early childhood program in Denmark and one in the United States as the basis for examining children’s perspectives on their everyday lives in child care. Observations documented the everyday cultural practices for the children in the two child care centers and provided a foundation for interpreting the interviews and the drawings. The information collected was analyzed to determine what aspects of child care young children like best and least, as well as their thoughts on the adults and peers in their center.     

Reclaiming Kindergarten: Part II: Questions About Policy

Part II of “Reclaiming Kindergarten” continues the discussion related to responding to the crisis in today’s kindergarten. In Part II, two policy questions are posed, the answers to which seek to respond to this continuing crisis. The questions center on issues related to engaging families in kindergarten and the need to consider a new early childhood paradigm where kindergarten is part of a continuous and seamless educational experience spanning prekindergarten through third grade. As in Part I, examples of classroom practice are used to illustrate the effective implementation of these principles in a kindergarten classroom.     

The Czech Republic Between Studentocracy,Academic Oligarchy and Managerialism: Are students powerful or powerless?

Tertiary Education and Management - In this article, we will argue that students played an important role at several crucial junctures of modern Czech history, which secured them a central position...