Children’s attributions about teachers’ intentions

Hostile attribution bias (HAB) has been shown to predict aggressive behavior, especially toward peers. The current study examined whether HAB is also related to conflict with teachers, an important predictor of academic and social success in school‐aged children. A total of 282 second to fourth grade boys in 74 classrooms completed a self‐report measure of HAB toward teachers, while their teachers assessed conflict in the teacher–student relationship. Results supported the presence of a positive relationship between HAB toward teachers and conflict with teachers. These findings suggest that HAB toward teachers may be an indicator of difficulties and, pending further research, a potential avenue for intervention to improve teacher–student relationships.     

Using DNA From Mothers and Children to Study Parental Investment in Children’s Educational Attainment

This study tested implications of new genetic discoveries for understanding the association between parental investment and children’s educational attainment. A novel design matched genetic data from 860 British mothers and their children with home-visit measures of parenting: the E-Risk Study. Three findings emerged. First, both mothers’ and children’s education-associated genetics, summarized in a genome-wide polygenic score, were associated with parenting—a gene–environment correlation. Second, accounting for genetic influences slightly reduced associations between parenting and children’s attainment—indicating some genetic confounding. Third, mothers’ genetics were associated with children’s attainment over and above children's own genetics, via cognitively stimulating parenting—an environmentally mediated effect. Findings imply that, when interpreting parents’ effects on children, environmentalists must consider genetic transmission, but geneticists must also consider environmental transmission.     

Dissecting “Peer Presence” and “Decisions” to Deepen Understanding of Peer Influence on Adolescent Risky Choice

This study evaluated the aspects of complex decisions influenced by peers, and components of peer involvement influential to adolescents’ risky decisions. Participants (N = 140) aged 13–25 completed the Columbia Card Task (CCT), a risky choice task, isolating deliberation-reliant and affect-reliant decisions while alone, while a friend monitors choices, and while a friend is merely present. There is no condition in which a nonfriend peer is present. Results demonstrated the risk-increasing peer effect occurred in the youngest participants in the cold CCT and middle-late adolescents in the hot CCT, whereas other ages and contexts showed a risk-decreasing peer effect. Mere presence was not sufficient to influence risky behavior. These boundaries in age, decision, and peer involvement constrain prevailing models of adolescent peer influence.     

“The eye in the sky doesn’t lie”: Video replay and self-evaluations as part of the basic communication course

This study explores extent and frequency of conventional practices in the basic communication course: speeches, video replay, and self-evaluations from 45 basic course directors and instructors. Results indicated three to four speeches per curriculum, with two prominent speech types: informative (97.8%) and persuasive (91.1%). Approximately 76% of curriculums used video replay. Self-evaluation questions (N?=?254) used 52.8% open, 40.6% closed, 21.9% circular, and 21.9% strategic questions. Most frequently used questions focused on: delivery (12.1%), content (10.6%), or delivery and content (11.1%). Findings suggest pedagogical practices vary across the discipline, and the discussion offers practical applications for improving practices.     

Maternal Scaffolding in Two Museum Exhibition Halls

Abstract This study investigates the effect of two different types of exhibitions on maternal scaffolding or teaching conversations within a natural history museum. A total of 31 mother‐child dyads were observed and videotaped within two different exhibition halls and the conversation was transcribed for analysis. Using categories of coding that compared higher‐level conceptual conversation versus perceptual conversation such as naming, the different types of teaching techniques were examined via paired t‐tests. More conceptual, higher‐level verbal teaching was observed within the traditionally designed exhibition hall than within a hall designed specifically for children and families. Interviews with the mothers indicated that they were aware of physical differences between the two exhibition halls and intentionally varied their scaffolding in relation to the physical context.     

Using a computer-aided personalized system of instruction to enhance the mastery of statistics in online learning

This study compared the effectiveness of teaching a distance education statistics course using a computer-aided personalized system of instruction (CAPSI) in comparison to a distance education course that used video lectures. Data were collected between 2017 and 2022. Two-hundred and sixty-eight students were included in the sample. Results supported that students enrolled in the CAPSI statistics course were less likely to drop out of the course and mastered significantly more material than students enrolled in the lecture-based distance education course. It is recommended that instructors teaching statistics in distance education settings consider using CAPSI to improve student outcomes.     

Leptotrichia hongkongensis sp. nov., a novel Leptotrichia species with the oral cavity as its natural reservoir

A straight, non-sporulating, Gram-variable bacillus (HKU24T) was recovered from the blood culture of a patient with metastatic breast carcinoma. After repeated subculturing in BACTEC Plus Anaerobic/F blood culture broth, HKU24T grew on brucella agar as non-hemolytic, pinpoint colonies after 96 h of incubation at 37 °C in an anaerobic environment and aerobic environment with 5% CO2. Growth was enhanced with a streak of Staphylococcus aureus. HKU24T was non-motile and catalase-negative, but positive for alkaline phosphatase, β-glucosidase, and α-glucosidase. It hydrolyzed phenylphosphonate and reduced resazurin. 16S rRNA, groEL, gyrB, recA, and rpoB sequencing showed that HKU24T occupies a distinct phylogenetic position among the Leptotrichia species, being most closely related to Leptotrichia trevisanii. Using HKU24T groEL, gyrB, recA, and rpoB gene-specific primers, fragments of these genes were amplified from one of 20 oral specimens. Based on phenotypic and genotypic characteristics, we propose a new species, Leptotrichia hongkongensis sp. nov., to describe this bacterium.     

Impact of a Technology-Mediated Reading Intervention on Adolescents' Reading Comprehension

In this experimental study we examined the effects of a technology-mediated, multicomponent reading comprehension intervention, Comprehension Circuit Training (CCT), for middle school students, the majority of whom were struggling readers. The study was conducted in three schools, involving three teachers and 228 students. Using a within-teacher design, middle school teachers' reading classes were randomly assigned to treatment (n = 9) or business as usual (n = 7) conditions. In the CCT condition, students received, on average, 39 lessons of video-modeled instruction in word reading, vocabulary, and comprehension instruction during reading intervention classes. Results of multilevel structural equation models indicated statistically significant effects favoring the CCT condition on three measures: reading comprehension latent variable (ES = 0.14), proximal vocabulary (ES = 0.43), and silent reading efficiency (ES = 0.28). Subgroup analyses indicated that students with lower entry-level reading comprehension tended to benefit more from the CCT intervention in reading comprehension, silent reading efficiency, and state test scores.