Emergence and characterization of sex differences in spatial ability: a meta-analysis

Sex differences in spatial ability are widely acknowledged, yet considerable dispute surrounds the magnitude, nature, and age of first occurrence of these differences. This article focuses on 3 questions about sex differences in spatial ability: What is the magnitude of sex differences in spatial ability? On which aspects of spatial ability are sex differences found? and When, in the life span, are sex differences in spatial ability first detected? Implications for clarifying the linkage between sex differences in spatial ability and other differences between males and females are discussed. We use meta-analysis, a method for synthesizing empirical studies, to investigate these questions. Results of the meta-analysis suggest that sex differences arise on some types of spatial ability but not others, that large sex differences are found only on measures of mental rotation, that smaller sex differences are found on measures of spatial perception, and that, when sex differences are found, they can be detected across the life span.     

WISE Inquiry in Fifth Grade Biology

This paper reports on a two year study designed to investigate how a Web-Based Integrated Science Environment (WISE) project called Plants in Space featuring classroom investigations can enable fifth grade students to increase their understanding of plant growth and development. A multidisciplinary partnership consisting of teachers, scientists, science education researchers, and technology specialists developed this project, tested it in fifth grade, modified it based on the data collected in year one and tested it again. We investigate these two versions of the curriculum and consider how understanding of the material improved with the revised curriculum.Participants were fifth grade students and a fifth grade teacher who was a co-developer of the curriculum and participated in the re-design process at an urban elementary school. An identical pre- and a post-subject matter assessment was administered to all students each year. Interviews and students' in-class work helped clarify the results. Overall, students made significant gains in understanding standards-based science concepts including photosynthesis.     

Prescient … and Not Always Accounted For: The Wisdom and Foresight of George A. Roeper

When George A. Roeper enlisted the aid of Dr. A. Harry Passow and other leaders in the field to help George convert his Michigan independent school to focus on gifted children in 1956, there was only one other elementary school in the country at the time devoted exclusively to gifted child education. Though his wife and school cofounder, Annemarie, later became quite well known in the field, George also wrote and spoke extensively about gifted children and their education. Those writings and speeches were rarely published but have been preserved in The Roeper School Archives. In this first in-depth examination, George’s writings display insight and prescience about the challenges and rewards of educating gifted children, touching on problems that still preoccupy the field, such as inclusive identification and motivation, all rooted in his humanistic point of view.     

Influences on students' internal locus of attribution for academic success in the first year of college

This study sought to determine the extent to which students' development of internal locus of attribution for academic success during the first year of college was influenced by institutional characteristics, students' academic experiences, and their social/nonacademic experiences. The sample was 2,392 first-year students attending 23 diverse two- and four-year institutions Iocated in 16 states throughout the country. Controlling for precollege internal attribution, academic ability, and other potentially confounding influences, a number of variables had significant, net, positive associations with end-of-first-year internal attribution. These included attending a two-year (versus a four-year) college, level of exposure to postsecondary education, work responsibilities, the extent of course organization, instructional clarity, and instructor support in the teaching received, and participation in intercollegiate athletics. Additional analyses indicated that many of the associations with internal attribution were conditional rather than general, differing in magnitude for different kinds of students.     

The Association Between Adverse Childhood Experiences and Child Telomere Length: Examining Self-Regulation as a Behavioral Mediator

Childhood adversity is linked to shortened telomere length (TL), but behavioral indicators of telomere attrition remain unclear. This study examined the association between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and child TL, and if ACEs were indirectly associated with TL through children’s self-regulatory abilities (i.e., effortful control and self-control). Hypotheses were tested using national data from teachers, parents, and their children (N = 2,527; M_age = 9.35, SD = .36 years). More ACEs were uniquely associated with short TL, and low self-control mediated the association between more ACEs and short TL. While longitudinal studies are needed to strengthen claims of causation, this study identifies a pathway from ACEs to TL that should be explored further.     

Further studies of pigeons’ spatial working memory in the open-field task

In Experiments 1 and 2, pigeons’ spatial working memory in an open-field setting was examined under conditions that differed in terms of working-memory load (number of sites visited prior to a retention test) at various delays between initial choices and the retention test. In Experiment 1, pigeons were tested under two conditions of memory load (three or five sites visited prior to the delay) and two delay intervals (15 and 60 min). Accuracy declined as a function of delay but was not affected significantly by memory load. In Experiment 2A, pigeons were tested under three conditions of memory load (two, four, or six sites visited prior to the delay). In separate phases, the delay was 2, 15, and 60 min. Accuracy was not affected by memory load in any of these phases. In Experiment 2B, three conditions of memory load (two, four, or six sites visited prior to the delay) were tested at two delays (2 and 60 min) within a test phase. Accuracy declined with increasing delay, but memory load again had no significant effects. These results are inconsistent with previous suggestions that pigeons’ retention of spatial information may decline as working-memory load is increased. In Experiment 3, cue-manipulation tests confirmed that pigeons’ choice behavior in the open-field task is controlled by memory for previously visitad room locations.