The Two Cultures of Undergraduate Academic Engagement

Using data on upper-division students in the University of California system, we show that two distinct cultures of engagement exist on campus. The culture of engagement in the arts, humanities and social sciences focuses on interaction, participation, and interest in ideas. The culture of engagement in the natural sciences and engineering focuses on improvement of quantitative skills through collaborative study with an eye to rewards in the labor market. The two cultures of engagement are strongly associated with post-graduate degree plans. The findings raise questions about normative conceptions of good educational practices in so far as they are considered to be equally relevant to students in all higher education institutions and all major fields of study.

Wavelength Channel Bandwidth of Wavelength—Selective Devices

Narrow bandwidth is a crocial factor in a high-performance wavelength-selective device(WSD).There are many different expressions to estimate bandwidths of many different WSDs.In this paper,we derive an important rule that the differential time delay between two coupling modes is the most important factor deciding the wavelength channel bandwidth for several different WSDs.This rule reveals that larger differential time delay between two coupling modes results in higher discrimination level of the operating wavelength.Based on the rule .a novel design of wavelength-selective coupler that has a bandwidth narrower than normal couplers is presented.     

Focusing on the Whole Student: An Evaluation of Massachusetts's Wraparound Zone Initiative

We used a comparative interrupted time series design to examine the impact of the Massachusetts' Wraparound Zone Initiative on student achievement, attendance, retention, and suspension. This initiative was designed to create coordinated district systems that allow schools to proactively and systematically address students' nonacademic needs. The state education agency awarded grants to seven high-need districts, each of which used the funds to support a select group of schools in implementing strategies that focused on school climate and culture, family engagement, systems to identify and address student needs, and community partnerships. Results from this study showed that students in Wraparound Zone schools performed better on state academic assessments than students in comparison schools, when considering prior achievement trends. Effects were statistically significant in the 3rd year of implementation. The impact on academic achievement was greatest for third- and fourth-grade students, and was particularly strong for English learners. There was no statistically significant overall impact on attendance, retention, or suspension.     

Identity and biography as mediators of science and mathematics faculty’s involvement in K-12 service

This article explores aspects of science and mathematics faculty identities and biographies that mediated their involvement in K-12 service. Faculty expressed five motivations for participating in K-12 service—advancing their research agenda, advocating environmental consciousness, desiring to be involved in their children’s schools, aspiring to improve their pedagogical practices and promoting equity and social justice.     

Digital Module 06: Bayesian Psychometrics—Posterior Predictive Model Checking https://ncme.elevate.commpartners.com

Drawing valid inferences from modern measurement models is contingent upon a good fit of the data to the model. Violations of model‐data fit have numerous consequences, limiting the usefulness and applicability of the model. As Bayesian estimation is becoming more common, understanding the Bayesian approaches for evaluating model‐data fit models is critical. In this instructional module, Allison Ames and Aaron Myers provide an overview of Posterior Predictive Model Checking (PPMC), the most common Bayesian model‐data fit approach. Specifically, they review the conceptual foundation of Bayesian inference as well as PPMC and walk through the computational steps of PPMC using real‐life data examples from simple linear regression and item response theory analysis. They provide guidance for how to interpret PPMC results and discuss how to implement PPMC for other model(s) and data. The digital module contains sample data, SAS code, diagnostic quiz questions, data‐based activities, curated resources, and a glossary.     

Prolonged static stretching does not influence running economy despite changes in neuromuscular function

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine the acute effects of prolonged static stretching (SS) on running economy. Ten male runners ([Vdot]O_2peak 60.1 ± 7.3 ml · kg^?1 · min^?1) performed 10 min of treadmill running at 70%[Vdot]O_2peak before and after SS and no stretching interventions. For the stretching intervention, each leg was stretched unilaterally for 40 s with each of eight different exercises and this was repeated three times. Respiratory gas exchange was measured throughout the running exercise with an automated gas analysis system. On a separate day, participants were tested for sit and reach range of motion, isometric strength and countermovement jump height before and after SS. The oxygen uptake, minute ventilation, energy expenditure, respiratory exchange ratio and heart rate responses to running were unaffected by the stretching intervention. This was despite a significant effect of SS on neuromuscular function (sit and reach range of motion, +2.7 ± 0.6 cm; isometric strength, ?5.6% ± 3.4%; countermovement jump height ?5.5% ± 3.4%; all P < 0.05). The results suggest that prolonged SS does not influence running economy despite changes in neuromuscular function.     

Minimal Groups Increase Young Children's Motivation and Learning on Group‐Relevant Tasks

Three experiments (N = 130) used a minimal group manipulation to show that just perceived membership in a social group boosts young children's motivation for and learning from group‐relevant tasks. In Experiment 1, 4‐year‐old children assigned to a minimal “puzzles group” persisted longer on a challenging puzzle than children identified as the “puzzles child” or children in a control condition. Experiment 2 showed that this boost in motivation occurred only when the group was associated with the task. In Experiment 3, children assigned to a minimal group associated with word learning learned more words than children assigned an analogous individual identity. The studies demonstrate that fostering shared motivations may be a powerful means by which to shape young children's academic outcomes.     

An Holistic View of Quality of Service

The growing presence of digital multimedia in everyday life, as evidenced by the continuing increase in Internet usage, is expected to augment or replace traditional modes of social and economic interaction. Face-to-face meetings, paperwork, and office-space are all expected to diminish in importance as cyberspace provides new facilities and interaction modes. In the higher education sector, distributed learning environments (DLEs) are being cited as solutions to the ambitious political goals of better education, wider access and lower costs. DLEs are still in their infancy however, and if they are to succeed in transforming conventional educational practice, they must become quality of service (QoS) aware. The notion of QoS originated in computer networking, but if it is not addressed appropriately in all a system's components then there may be little or no benefit for that system's users, regardless of the network quality. There is a real danger that policy makers in the educational sphere will simply equate the needs of the end users, namely teachers and students, with network-level QoS. Our experience with the TAGS framework for constructing DLEs has shown that QoS must be taken into account from many perspectives before traditional educational processes can be satisfactorily transformed. This paper contributes towards an holistic view of QoS in DLEs by reviewing the network perspective and augmenting it with other, equally important, concerns.     

Varying States of Head Start: Impacts of a Federal Program Across State Policy Contexts

Classroom quality is critical for young children's learning, yet evidence suggests that the quality of early care and education (ECE) classrooms varies widely, even within federally administered Head Start. This study uses data from the nationally representative Head Start Impact Study to examine variation in children's access to formal and high-quality ECE by policy characteristics that demonstrate a state's commitment and approach to regulating ECE quality. Findings support existing evidence of the impact of randomization to Head Start on children's access to formal and high-quality ECE, and expand our understanding of the ways in which these impacts vary. Overall, we find that stronger state child care licensing regulations and other indicators of a child-friendly policy climate are associated with a smaller contrast between the Head Start versus control groups' access to both formal and high-quality ECE. This study also offers initial evidence that state regulations targeting the quality of an ECE program's professional environment may be particularly important for access to high-quality classrooms.     

Lolita,Facebook, and the Third Space of Literacy Teacher Education

This study examines how and why peoples of African descent access and utilize community-based pedagogical spaces that exist outside schools. Employing a theoretical framework that fuses historical methodology and border-crossing theory, the researchers review existing scholarship and primary documents to present an historical examination of how peoples of African descent have fought for and redefined education in nonschool educative venues. These findings inform the authors’ analysis of results from an oral history project they conducted into how Black Bermudian men utilized learning spaces outside schools, such as the family, Black church, and athletics clubs, to augment their personal and scholastic development. Based on their historical and empirical research findings, the authors argue that educational actors (including teachers, administrators, policy makers, and researchers) focused on school-based issues like the academic achievement gap would do well to recognize the impact learning spaces outside of schools may have on student scholastic success, particularly for minority men.