Review Essay: Looking at Lynching: Spectacle,Resistance and Contemporary Transformations

Psychology of the Spoken Word. By Delbert Moyer Staley. Boston: Richard G. Badger, 1914. Pp. 370; cloth, $2.00; leather, $3.00.

Famous Living Americans. Edited by Mary Griffin Webb and Edna Lenore Webb, Greencastle, Ind.: Charles Webb &; Co., 1915. Cloth, pp. 594.     

Teacher use of evidence to customize inquiry science instruction

This study investigated how professional development featuring evidence‐based customization of technology‐enhanced curriculum projects can improve inquiry science teaching and student knowledge integration in earth science. Participants included three middle school sixth‐grade teachers and their classes of students (N = 787) for three consecutive years. Teachers used evidence from their student work to revise the curriculum projects and rethink their teaching strategies. Data were collected through teacher interviews, written reflections, classroom observations, curriculum artifacts, and student assessments. Results suggest that the detailed information about the learning activities of students provided by the assessments embedded in the online curriculum motivated curricular and pedagogical customizations that resulted in both teacher and student learning. Customizations initiated by teachers included revisions of embedded questions, additions of hands‐on investigations, and modifications of teaching strategies. Student performance improved across the three cohorts of students with each year of instructional customization. Coupling evidence from student work with revisions of curriculum and instruction has promise for strengthening professional development and improving science learning. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 47: 1037–1063, 2010     

Early Family and Child-Care Antecedents of Awakening Cortisol Levels in Adolescence

This study examined early observed parenting and child-care experiences in relation to functioning of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis over the long term. Consistent with the attenuation hypothesis, individuals ( n  =   863) who experienced: (a) higher levels of maternal insensitivity and (b) more time in child-care centers in the first 3 years of life had lower awakening cortisol levels at age 15. Associations were small in magnitude. Nonetheless, results were (a) additive in that both higher levels of maternal insensitivity and more experience with center-based care uniquely (but not interactively) predicted lower awakening cortisol, (b) not accounted for by later caregiving experiences measured concurrently with awakening cortisol at age 15 or by early demographic variables, and (c) not moderated by sex or by difficult temperament.     

An exploration of instructors' perceptions about online proctoring and its value in ensuring academic integrity

As universities moved to remotely taught courses during the COVID-19 pandemic, the importance of maintaining academic integrity in online environments intensified. In response, this study explores instructors' perceptions about the role of online proctoring as a tool for their courses with the intent of enhancing the understanding of online proctoring's usefulness in ensuring academic integrity and the factors that may be swaying instructors' adoption decisions. An online survey was completed by 158 instructors at a variety of higher education institutions with 118 responding to an open-ended question that allowed respondents to share any additional thoughts about or experiences with using online proctoring. A thematic review of the qualitative comments illustrates the multifaceted impact of online proctoring on instructors and students. Results identified instructors' perceived benefits and challenges of online proctoring to them, their students and the learning process. In addition, instructors voiced numerous legal, ethical and social concerns about the use of online proctoring, including concerns related to students' privacy. Despite these concerns, some instructors identified strong use cases for online proctoring while others provided alternative strategies for ensuring academic integrity in online courses. As institutions consider the role of online proctoring in ensuring academic integrity, a holistic approach that balances instructional design best practices, student-friendly policies and proctoring tools is recommended to serve the complex needs and concerns of instructors, students and their institutions.

Practitioner notes

What is already known about this topic

• Prior research findings are mixed as to whether proctoring is valuable for ensuring academic integrity in online courses.
• Studies investigating grade performance in proctored versus unproctored exam settings have conflicting results; however, studies have found that students completing proctored formative exams perform better on summative exams than students completing non-proctored formative exams.

What this paper adds

• Qualitative data were collected to provide an overview of instructors' perceptions about and experiences with online proctoring.
• Analysis suggests that online proctoring is beneficial to some instructors, students and the overall learning process. At the same time, its use is also concerning to other instructors and students. Among the issues raised by instructors are concerns for student privacy, increases in student test anxiety and discriminatory proctoring practices.

Implications for practice and/or policy

• Institutions must be proactive in ensuring that the use of online proctoring aligns with their institutional values and the changing legal landscape.
• Institutional policies should strive to find a balance between ensuring academic integrity and promoting a positive experience for students and instructors. Since there are strong use cases for online proctoring, these policies should include flexibility whenever possible.