Mother Goose and Mother Nature: Designing Stories to Communicate Information About Climate Change

Narratives have the ability to highlight climate change information in a relatable and engaging format. The purpose of the present investigation was to test the effects of five story structure types containing climate change information on perceived message effectiveness. Furthermore, we measured whether political affiliation moderated persuasive effectiveness of climate change messages among U.S. eligible voting adults (N = 594) who identified as Republican, Democrat, and Independent. The highest rated story overall was situated in the past, was realistic, and had clear moral values, indicating that certain appealing stories can serve as effective conduits for persuasive messages across the political spectrum. There were few differences between political affiliations, namely, that Democrats and Republicans rated messages differently on effectiveness when they differed on moral themes.     

PLANNING AN ELEARNING DEMENTIA CARE PROGRAM FOR HEALTHCARE TEAMS IN LONG-TERM CARE FACILITIES: THE LEARNERS’ PERSPECTIVES

This paper presents a needs analysis conducted to obtain information concerning online dementia care training of healthcare workers in long-term care (LTC) facilities. The resulting information was used to guide the development of an online dementia care training program designed to facilitate the acquisition of skills and knowledge necessary for healthcare teams to deliver better care to the residents with whom they work. Three focus groups were conducted at two sites across Canada. Data analysis revealed five major themes that will help program designers develop effective online learning programs. Recommendations for the development of an online dementia care program are proposed.     

Using an adaptive expertise lens to understand the quality of teachers’ classroom implementation of computer-supported complex systems curricula in high school science

Background: This exploratory study is part of a larger-scale research project aimed at building theoretical and practical knowledge of complex systems in students and teachers with the goal of improving high school biology learning through professional development and a classroom intervention.

Purpose: We propose a model of adaptive expertise to better understand teachers’ classroom practices as they attempt to navigate myriad variables in the implementation of biology units that include working with computer simulations, and learning about and teaching through complex systems ideas.

Sample: Research participants were three high school biology teachers, two females and one male, ranging in teaching experience from six to 16 years. Their teaching contexts also ranged in student achievement from 14–47% advanced science proficiency.

Design and methods: We used a holistic multiple case study methodology and collected data during the 2011–2012 school year. Data sources include classroom observations, teacher and student surveys, and interviews. Data analyses and trustworthiness measures were conducted through qualitative mining of data sources and triangulation of findings.

Results: We illustrate the characteristics of adaptive expertise of more or less successful teaching and learning when implementing complex systems curricula. We also demonstrate differences between case study teachers in terms of particular variables associated with adaptive expertise.

Conclusions: This research contributes to scholarship on practices and professional development needed to better support teachers to teach through a complex systems pedagogical and curricular approach.     

The future of learned associations in the humanities

This article is concerned with how six of the largest learned associations in the humanities perceive their own futures and the future of academic publishing, and is based upon informal interviews with representatives of these associations. The outcome of this research indicates that although these organizations are aware of the changing role of learned associations in relation to their members and a wider public, they are struggling to embrace the opportunities represented by the transition to electronic forms of interaction within scholarly communities, and are limited by the lack of funding available in the humanities and an historical commitment to traditional forms of publication and evaluation. In conclusion, this study proposes that the future of learned associations in the humanities is closely linked to the future of academic publishers working in these disciplines.     

Peer tutoring instructional practice and kindergartners’ achievement and socioemotional development

ABSTRACT

This study examines how the use of peer tutoring instructional practices links to students’ outcomes during kindergarten. Examining this pedagogical strategy allows us to contribute to the literature in three ways. First, we can study one potential mechanism by which peers might influence the outcomes of other peers in the classroom. Second, in that peer tutoring that is used as an instructional practice, the study can inform the link between instructional factors and student outcomes. Finally, our agenda look at the effects of peer tutoring instructional practices on academic and socioemotional outcomes, thereby broadening the meaning of educational attainment. The study relies on the most current national dataset of kindergarten students (the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten class of 2010–2011). The findings suggest that a higher frequency of peer tutoring utilisation during instruction predicts greater social skills. However, there is no predictive relationship with behaviour or achievement. Implications are discussed.     

Antioxidant-rich beetroot juice does not adversely affect acute neuromuscular adaptation following eccentric exercise

This study examined the effects of beetroot juice on the repeated bout effect (RBE) to eccentric exercise. Twenty-nine recreationally active males performed two bouts of 100-drop jumps, separated by 14–21 days. Using a double-blind, independent groups design, participants consumed either a higher dose beetroot juice (H-BT; 250 ml, n = 10), a lower dose beetroot juice (L-BT; 125 ml, n = 9) or an isocaloric placebo (PLA; 250 ml, n = 10) for 3 days after bout 1; no drinks were consumed after bout 2. Maximal isometric voluntary contraction (MIVC), countermovement jump (CMJ), pressure-pain threshold (PPT) and creatine kinase (CK) were measured pre, post, 24, 48 and 72 h following both bouts. In bout 2, CMJ and MIVC recovered quicker and CK activity was attenuated (versus bout 1) (P < 0.05) in all groups, demonstrating an RBE. At 24 h post bout 1, MIVC was 84.1 ± 16.1, 83.6 ± 11.6, 79.7 ± 15.1% relative to baseline values in the H-BT, L-BT and PLA groups, respectively; at 24 h post bout 2, MIVC recovered to 90.7 ± 13.7, 92.9 ± 6.9, 87.8 ± 6.9, in the H-BT, L-BT and PLA groups, respectively. These findings suggest that supplementation with antioxidant-rich beetroot juice does not adversely affect acute adaptations to a bout of eccentric exercise.     

Staying in the science stream: patterns of participation in A‐level science subjects in the UK

This paper describes patterns of participation and attainment in A‐level physics, chemistry and biology from 1961 to 2009. The A level has long been seen as an important gateway qualification for higher level study, particularly in the sciences. This long‐term overview examines how recruitment to these three subjects has changed in the context of numerous policies and initiatives that seek to retain more young people in the sciences. The results show that recruitment to the pure sciences has stagnated, general trends have hardly varied and the track record of government policy in influencing change is not strong. There is no evidence for increasing achievement gaps between the sexes at A level and even national policy requiring that all young people study science up to the age of 16 appears to have had little impact on recruitment at this level.