Foundational issues in evolution education

There is a great need for effective evolution education. This paper reviews some of the evidence that demonstrates that need and analyzes some of the foundational semantic, epistemological, and philosophical issues involved. This analysis is used to provide a functional understanding of the distinction between science and non-science. Special emphasis is placed the scientific meaning of the terms theory, hypothesis, fact, proof, evidence, and truth, focusing on the difference between religious belief and acceptance of a scientific theory. Science is viewed as theologically neutral and as not mutually exclusive from religion. Finally, a number of practical recommendations to the classroom biology teacher are presented.     

Effects of a Brief Mindfulness Based Group Intervention On College Students

Increases in the number of college students seeking mental health services require counseling centers to explore innovative strategies to provide effective and efficient treatments. Group interventions offer an alternative to traditional individual counseling, allowing centers to serve more students with fewer clinical staff (Burlingame et al., 2016). Of current group modalities, mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) have been growing in popularity as an effective approach for addressing college students’ increasingly complex needs. This study describes the evaluation of a three-session mindfulness-based intervention on students’ mindfulness, symptoms, and stress. Compared to a comparison group of 109 students not seeking counseling center services, 78 students who received the intervention reported increased mindfulness, and decreased symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress at the end of the group. Furthermore, improvements in mindfulness mediated intervention effects on symptoms of depression and anxiety. These gains were generally maintained 3 weeks later. These findings support the benefits of brief group interventions for college students. Suggestions for modifications to the intervention and for future research are discussed.     

Parameter Estimation Accuracy of the Effort-Moderated Item Response Theory Model Under Multiple Assumption Violations

As low-stakes testing contexts increase, low test-taking effort may serve as a serious validity threat. One common solution to this problem is to identify noneffortful responses and treat them as missing during parameter estimation via the effort-moderated item response theory (EM-IRT) model. Although this model has been shown to outperform traditional IRT models (e.g., two-parameter logistic [2PL]) in parameter estimation under simulated conditions, prior research has failed to examine its performance under violations to the model’s assumptions. Therefore, the objective of this simulation study was to examine item and mean ability parameter recovery when violating the assumptions that noneffortful responding occurs randomly (Assumption 1) and is unrelated to the underlying ability of examinees (Assumption 2). Results demonstrated that, across conditions, the EM-IRT model provided robust item parameter estimates to violations of Assumption 1. However, bias values greater than 0.20 SDs were observed for the EM-IRT model when violating Assumption 2; nonetheless, these values were still lower than the 2PL model. In terms of mean ability estimates, model results indicated equal performance between the EM-IRT and 2PL models across conditions. Across both models, mean ability estimates were found to be biased by more than 0.25 SDs when violating Assumption 2. However, our accompanying empirical study suggested that this biasing occurred under extreme conditions that may not be present in some operational settings. Overall, these results suggest that the EM-IRT model provides superior item and equal mean ability parameter estimates in the presence of model violations under realistic conditions when compared with the 2PL model.     

Using Drawing Technology to Assess Students’ Visualizations of Chemical Reaction Processes

In this study, we investigated how students used a drawing tool to visualize their ideas of chemical reaction processes. We interviewed 30 students using thinking-aloud and retrospective methods and provided them with a drawing tool. We identified four types of connections the students made as they used the tool: drawing on existing knowledge, incorporating dynamic aspects of chemical processes, linking a visualization to the associated chemical phenomenon, and connecting between the visualization and chemistry concepts. We also compared students who were able to create dynamic visualizations with those who only created static visualizations. The results indicated a relationship between students constructing a dynamic view of chemical reaction processes and their understanding of chemical reactions. This study provides insights into the use of visualizations to support instruction and assessment to facilitate students’ integrated understanding of chemical reactions.     

Do Children with Autism Use the Speaker's Direction of Gaze Strategy to Crack the Code of Language?

Normal toddlers infer the referent of a novel word by consulting the Speaker's direction of Gaze. That is, they use the Speaker's Direction of Gaze (SDG) strategy. This is a far more powerful strategy than the alternative, the Listener's Direction of Gaze (LDG) strategy. In Study 1 we tested if children with autism, who have well-documented impairments in joint attention, used the SDG or the LDG strategy to learn a novel word for a novel object. Results showed that although 70.6% of children with mental handicap passed the test by making the correct mapping between a novel word and a novel object, via the SDG strategy, only 29.4% of children with autism did so. Instead, their reliance on the LDG strategy led to mapping errors. In Study 2 a group of normal children, whose chronological age (24 months old) was eqated with the verbal mental age of the 2 clinical groups in Study I, was tested using a similar procedure. Results showed that 79% of this normal group passed the test by making the correct mapping between a novel word and a novel object using the SDG strategy. Taken together, the results from both studies suggest that children with autism are relatively insensitive to a speaker's gaze direction as an index of the speaker's intention to refer . This result is consistent with previous findings showing that children with autism are relatively "blind" to the mentalistic significance of the eyes. Discussion centers on how the absence of an SDG strategy might disrupt specific aspects of language development in autism.     

Diversity,Performance, and Satisfaction in Student Group Projects: An Empirical Study

This paper focuses on the effect that diversity has on the performance and satisfaction of student groups in a computer simulation project. Using structural equation modeling, we find evidence to support the contention of previous research that diversity negatively affects group satisfaction. This finding was strongest for undergraduate groups. While the relationship between diversity and performance is inconclusive, groups that are dominated by one person tend to have below average performance.     

Creating a space where teachers can locate their voices and develop their pedagogical awareness

The claim is made here that we need to prepare teachers who can locate their voices in teaching situations, recognize their relationship with other voices in those situations, and reflect on their pedagogical intentions. In a teacher education course, stories written about practicum experiences offered students an opportunity to reflect on the location of their voice in classroom situations and to discuss with peers different classroom situations and possibilities for teaching and learning. This study examines more closely the reflections of two of the students with seemingly distinct orientations to learning to teach. Their practicum stories and reflective essays were analyzed for positioning of voice as described by Belenky et al. (1986). The two students located their voices in distinct ways, and also expressed growing awareness of classroom dynamics and the value of peer dialogue in broadening and deepening their understandings of teaching and learning.     

A vacuum tube amplifier for small direct voltages

A simple means for combining a small direct voltage with an alternating carrier is described. This consists of connecting the direct voltage in series with an alternating voltage of the same order of magnitude. The two are then passed through a copper oxide rectifier which suppresses one part of the cycle. The degree of suppression depends upon the magnitude of the direct voltage. The resulting fluctuating voltage can be amplified to any desired degree in a conventional amplifier.The theory for the simple case of pure resistance is worked out, with an example. The solution of the more general case with inductances is indicated.The practical circuit which has been used for the amplification of thermo-couple currents, and as a galvanometer power multiplier, is shown.