The Contribution of Trade Books to Early Science Literacy: In and Out of School

Lifelong science literacy begins with attitudes and interests established early in childhood. The use of trade books (i.e., a literary work intended for sale to the general public) in North American school classrooms to support the development of science literacy invites an examination of the quality of science content disseminated to students. A total of 116 trade books were examined to: (a) determine the degree to which science trade books complement expected science knowledge outcomes outlined in school curricula, and (b) compare trade book content to the goals of scientific literacy. Analysis across four science topics, Dinosaurs, Space, Inheritance, and Growth and Life Properties, revealed that this body of children’s literature is inconsistent in its coverage of curricular goals and elements of scientific literacy. Because trade books represent children’s first exposure to science, these shortcomings should be addressed if these books are to be maximally effective in promoting science literacy. Implications for using trade books in the classroom are discussed.

Disclosure to Parents About Everyday Activities Among American Adolescents From Mexican, Chinese, and European Backgrounds

Disclosure to parents and reasons for not disclosing different activities were examined in 489 Chinese, Mexican, and European American adolescents ( M  =   16.37 years, SD  =   0.77). With generational status controlled, Chinese American adolescents disclosed less to mothers about personal and multifaceted activities than European Americans and less about personal feelings than other youth, primarily because these acts were considered personal, not harmful, or because parents would not listen or understand. Disclosure regarding prudential behavior was lower among Mexican American than among European American adolescents, primarily due to concerns with parental disapproval. Multigroup path analyses indicated that greater closeness to parents is associated with more disclosure for all youth and activities; associations between family obligation and disclosure varied by domain and ethnicity.     

A systematic analysis of performance measures for classification tasks

This paper presents a systematic analysis of twenty four performance measures used in the complete spectrum of Machine Learning classification tasks, i.e., binary, multi-class, multi-labelled, and hierarchical. For each classification task, the study relates a set of changes in a confusion matrix to specific characteristics of data. Then the analysis concentrates on the type of changes to a confusion matrix that do not change a measure, therefore, preserve a classifier’s evaluation (measure invariance). The result is the measure invariance taxonomy with respect to all relevant label distribution changes in a classification problem. This formal analysis is supported by examples of applications where invariance properties of measures lead to a more reliable evaluation of classifiers. Text classification supplements the discussion with several case studies.     

Teaching Partnerships: Early Childhood and Engineering Students Teaching Math and Science Through Robotics

This paper presents an innovative approach to introducing pre-service early childhood teachers to math, science and technology education. The approach involves the creation of partnerships between pre-service early childhood and engineering students to conceive, develop, implement and evaluate curriculum in the area of math, science and technology by using robotics and the engineering design process. In this paper we first present the theoretical framework for the creation of these partnerships. We then introduce an experience done at Tufts University in which three different forms of partnership models evolved: the collaborators model, the external consultants model and the developers model. We also present different case studies from this experience and finally we conclude with some remarks and observations for making this work scalable and sustainable in other settings and universities.     

Identification of visual dimensions in photographs using multidimensional scaling techniques

An examination of underlying visual dimensions commonly perceived in photographs was conducted using multidimensional scaling techniques. Fifteen male and female university graduate students individually examined 34 photographs chosen to represent a broad range of visual topics. Similarity judgments between photographs were used for multidimensional scaling, while subject interview data were used to describe meaningful visual concepts. Results indicate that pictures were grouped in clusters along three observable dimensions. Life, nature, and culture emerged as the dimensions of primary importance to viewers. This suggests the existence of universal meaning systems in visuals for communicating denotative and connotative meaning and presents experimental variables for future hypothesis testing. We gratefully acknowledge David Lancy’s inspiration and Ed Greenberg’s significant contribution to this work.     

Spatial Ability Mediates the Gender Difference in Middle School Students' Science Performance

Prior research has demonstrated a male advantage in spatial skills and science achievement. The present research integrated these findings by testing the potential role of spatial skills in gender differences in the science performance of eighth‐grade students (13–15 years old). In 2 (N = 113), the findings showed that mental rotation ability mediated gender differences in physical science and technology/engineering test scores. In 3 (N = 73,245), science performance was examined in a state population of eighth‐grade students. As in 2 , the results revealed larger gender differences on items that showed higher correlations with mental rotation. These findings underscore the importance of considering spatial training interventions aimed at reducing gender differences in the science performance of school‐aged children.     

Youth Protests against Education Privatization Reforms in Post-Soviet States

This article examines youth protests against education privatization in the post-Soviet countries of Latvia, Russia, and Ukraine. Drawing on a sample of online sources and scholarly articles, this study uses critical discourse analysis and visual methodologies to examine why and how post-Soviet university students have organized to protest against education privatization reforms. The study also critically analyzes visual and discursive representations of youth protests by government officials, mass media, and academia in the post-Soviet education space. The study reveals that while student protesters are deeply concerned about the future of public education, the messages (and images) generated by youth protesters are reappropriated in various ways by mass media, often beyond the control of protesters themselves.     

Examining between‐group and within‐group effects of a peer‐assisted reading strategies intervention

The present study sought to evaluate the effects of a reading strategy instructional program on the reading competence of third‐grade students. Students were instructed in fluent and strategic reading by trained research assistants in whole class settings and subsequently worked on expository text material together with peers. Their reading competence was assessed continuously: in the baseline phase prior to the intervention (4 times), while the intervention was in place (8 times), and after the end of the intervention (4 times). Additionally, reading competence in the wait list control students was assessed 8 times during the same time period. Accordingly, within‐ and between‐group comparisons of students’ test scores were conducted on the data, with both resulting in significant positive effects on the reading competence of intervention students. This research provides an example of how to strengthen the validity of quasiexperimental intervention research through the addition of design features like multiple measurement points.