TRAINING MATH AND SCIENCE TEACHER–RESEARCHERS IN A COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH ENVIRONMENT: IMPLICATIONS FOR MATH AND SCIENCE EDUCATION

In this mixed-methods study, the effect of training teacher–researchers in a collaborative research environment is examined for a cohort of teachers enrolled in a Math and Science Partnership (MSP) master’s degree program. The teachers describe changes in their research views and in their application of research in practice, and detail the challenges they faced during the process. The findings of the study suggest training teachers as researchers is likely to encourage teacher interest in conducting and applying theory in math and science classrooms. The results of this study have implications for bridging the gap between theory and practice in math and science education in general.     

How secondary-school students deal with issues of sustainable development in class*

Abstract

Education for sustainable development (ESD) is intended to enable individuals to shape a fair and sustainable society. Implemented at schools, ESD addresses specific topics, e.g. globalization or pollutants in clothing. This study investigates what challenges are connected with such issues in class and how students deal with issues of sustainable development at German secondary schools. Several teaching units in different subjects and schools were video- and audiotaped. The empirical material was analysed using the Documentary Method (a qualitative reconstructive approach) to describe students’ competences that emerged within different pedagogical arrangements. We identified three key competences that provide important skills for handling issues in ESD that deal (1) with the state of not knowing, (2) with perspectivity, and (3) with calls to action.     

对加拿大和中国教师教育的探究:一个跨文化的对话

This article compares teacher education in China with Canada, with the aim of fostering a cross-cultural dialogue between the two systems. Using case studies the article attempts to address the following questions: What can the two countries learn from each other? Can Canadian teacher education be a possible alternative model for China? Can Canada’s teacher education curriculum be used to enhance greater pedagogical preparation and more pre-service teaching practice for China? Is Canada’s move towards strengthening professionalism in teaching of value to China?     

Do Belonging and Social Exclusion at School Affect Structural Brain Development During Adolescence?

Students’ sense of belonging presents an essential resource for academic and health outcomes, whereas social exclusion at school negatively impacts students’ well-being and academic performance. Aiming to understand how feelings of school-related belonging and exclusion shape the structural brain development, this study applied longitudinal questionnaire-based data and MRI data from 71 adolescent students (37 females, M_age at t1 = 15.0; t2 = 16.1 years). All were white participants from Germany. Voxel-based morphometry revealed only an association of social exclusion (and not of belonging) and gray matter volume in the left anterior insula: From t1 to t2, there was less gray matter decrease, the more social exclusion students perceived. School-related social exclusion and disturbed neurodevelopment are thus significantly associated.     

The Relation Between Breakfast Skipping and School Performance in Adolescents

Breakfast skipping is common in adolescents, but research on the effects of breakfast skipping on school performance is scarce. This current cross‐sectional survey study of 605 adolescents aged 11–18 years investigated whether adolescents who habitually skip breakfast have lower end‐of‐term grades than adolescents who eat breakfast daily. Additionally, the roles of sleep behavior, namely chronotype, and attention were explored. Results showed that breakfast skippers performed lower at school than breakfast eaters. The findings were similar for younger and older adolescents and for boys and girls. Adolescents with an evening chronotype were more likely to skip breakfast, but chronotype was unrelated to school performance. Furthermore, attention problems partially mediated the relation between breakfast skipping and school performance. This large‐scale study emphasizes the importance of breakfast as a determinant for school performance. The results give reason to investigate the mechanisms underlying the relation between skipping breakfast, attention, and school performance in more detail.     

The Power of Parent Engagement: Sociocultural Considerations in the Quest for Equity

This article explores the difference between parental involvement, where parents' activity levels at school are primarily structured by schools, and parental engagement, where parents have a more active voice in how they take part in what goes on in schools. This difference is underscored as a means of illuminating ways of addressing the issue of racialized disproportionality in special education and acts of school discipline, particularly in urban settings. We highlight the ways schools need to transform the often microaggresively oppressive ways parents are invited into their children’s education process, as well as the way schools value the knowledge parents bring. Effective ways of activating parental engagement as a means of creating authentic community engagement are also examined. Additionally, recommendations are provided on how to prepare novice teachers to develop plans and goals alongside parents in order to help these new educators develop a pedagogical stance that authentically values the importance of one of schools’ most important stakeholders–parents.     

语音系统困难儿童的评估和治疗:个案研究

本研究采用语音加工分析方法 ,探讨了一名说广东话有语音障碍的儿童的语音系统 ,并对其语音系统进行了评估和分析 ,本文亦藉此个案对语音系统困难提出一系列的治疗建议。     

Validation of Automated Scoring for a Formative Assessment that Employs Scientific Argumentation

Scientific argumentation is one of the core practices for teachers to implement in science classrooms. We developed a computer-based formative assessment to support students’ construction and revision of scientific arguments. The assessment is built upon automated scoring of students’ arguments and provides feedback to students and teachers. Preliminary validity evidence was collected in this study to support the use of automated scoring in this formative assessment. The results showed satisfactory psychometric properties related to this formative assessment. The automated scores showed satisfactory agreement with human scores, but small discrepancies still existed. Automated scores and feedback encouraged students to revise their answers. Students’ scientific argumentation skills improved during the revision process. These findings provided preliminary evident to support the use of automated scoring in the formative assessment to diagnose and enhance students’ argumentation skills in the context of climate change in secondary school science classrooms.     

The Role of Generic Language in the Early Development of Social Categorization

Classifying people into categories not only helps humans simplify a complex social world but also contributes to stereotyping and discrimination. This research examines how social categorization develops by testing how language imbues with meaning otherwise arbitrary differences between people. Experimental studies (N = 129) with 2‐year‐olds showed that generic language—language that refers to abstract kinds—guides the development of social categorization. Toddlers learned a new category after hearing generic language about individuals who shared an arbitrary perceptual feature but not after hearing matched specific language, simple labels, or plural (but nongeneric) language about the same set of individuals. These findings show how subtle linguistic cues shape the development of social categorization.