Marital conflict and disruption of children's sleep

Marital conflict was examined as a predictor of the quality and quantity of sleep in a sample of healthy 8- to 9-year-olds. Parents and children reported on marital conflict, the quantity and quality of children's sleep were examined through an actigraph worn for 7 consecutive nights, and child sleepiness was derived from child and mother reports. Increased marital conflict was associated with disruptions in the quantity and quality of children's sleep as well as subjective sleepiness, even after controlling for child age, ethnic group membership, socioeconomic status, sex, and body mass index. The results support the sensitization hypothesis in that exposure to marital conflict may influence an important facet of children's biological regulation, namely sleep.     

Figures of speech in the physics classroom: a process of conceptual change

Background: This study investigates the role of figures of speech in the process of conceptual change in the physics classroom. Purpose: Its objectives are to examine what teachers and students perceive to be the advantages in using figures of speech in teaching physics concepts, what they perceive to be the challenges in using them, and how teachers use these in their classrooms to minimize the challenges faced. Sample We chose a purposive sample of 95 students and nine teachers of physics, in four schools in Lebanon. Design and methods: A mixed-method approach was used. Interviews were conducted with physics teachers; questionnaires were distributed to students, and non-participant classroom observations were carried out. Results: Teachers viewed figures of speech as a tool that helps them transmit abstract physics concepts to students in a simpler and concrete way. Questionnaires and non-participant observations revealed several examples of figures of speech used and the positive responses of students towards them. Conclusions: The study suggests several ways to overcome the drawbacks. This study highlights the urgent need for all stakeholders to work collaboratively to include figures of speech in the curriculum to enhance the process of conceptual change in the physics classroom.     

Adolescents’ sleep and adjustment: Reciprocal effects

Reciprocal relations between sleep and adjustment were investigated. Participants included 246 adolescents (M = 15.80 years; 67.5% White, 32.5% Black/African American; 53% female, 47% male) at Time 1 (data collected 2012–2013), 227 at Time 2 (M = 16.78 years) and 215 at Time 3 (M = 17.70 years). Sleep–wake variables were measured with self-reports (sleepiness) and actigraphy (average sleep minutes and efficiency, variability in sleep minutes and efficiency). Adolescents reported on depression and anxiety symptoms, and parents reported on externalizing problems. Greater variability in sleep duration and efficiency as well as sleepiness predicted adjustment problems (range of R²: 36%–60%). Reciprocal relations were supported mostly for sleepiness (range of R²: 16%–32%). Results help understand bidirectional relations between sleep and adjustment.     

Student victimization by educational staff in Israel

OBJECTIVES: This study examines the relationships between physical, emotional, and sexual victimization of school students by educational staff with a number of variables describing the student (gender, age, and relationship with teachers) and the school (the socioeconomic status (SES) of the students' families and school's neighborhood, school level, and ethnic affiliation). METHOD: The study is based on a nationally representative sample of 17,465 students in grades 4-11 in 319 schools across Israel, who completed questionnaires during class. In addition, data were obtained on SES of students' families and the school's neighborhood. Hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) was used to examine the relationships. RESULTS: Almost a third of the students reported being emotionally maltreated by school staff, and almost a quarter of primary and junior high students and a fifth of high school students were physically victimized by school staff. Almost 8% of secondary school students reported being sexually maltreated by school staff. The most vulnerable students were boys, Arab children, and children in schools in low SES neighborhoods. CONCLUSION: The study shows that students in Israel are exposed to high levels of maltreatment by educational staff, but not all students are equally likely to be victimized by school staff.     

Theorising teaching and learning: pre-service teachers’ theoretical awareness of learning

We examine pre-service teachers’ theoretical learning during one five-week training module, and their educators’ learning about better lecture design to foster student learning. The study is iterative: interventions (one per group) were implemented sequentially in student groups A–C, the results of the previous intervention serving as the baseline for the design developed for the next. These learning study participants, 79 students from year three of a teacher training programme, studied the variation theory (VT) of learning. Three lesson cycles were completed, each comprising four steps: (1) a pre-test, (2) a 15-min intervention discussing VT, (3) a post-test and (4) a delayed post-test conducted eight weeks later. The results indicated learning differences between groups; qualitative analysis identified three categories of student answers, i.e. emergent, premature and unaware, regarding their theoretical understanding. Group C had more students with emergent knowledge (36%) than did groups A (20%) or B (17%) at post-testing.     

Children's sleep and cognitive functioning: race and socioeconomic status as moderators of effects

Race and socioeconomic status (SES) moderated the link between children's sleep and cognitive functioning. One hundred and sixty-six 8- to 9-year-old African and European American children varying in SES participated. Sleep measures were actigraphy, sleep diaries, and self-report; cognitive measures were from the Woodcock-Johnson III and reaction time tasks. Children had similar performance when sleep was more optimal, but after controlling for SES, African American children had lower performance with sleep disruptions. Children from lower and higher SES had similar performance with better sleep quality and less variability in sleep schedules, but when sleep was more disrupted, higher SES children had better performance. Examination of environmental variables associated with race and SES that may underlie these effects may lead to directions for interventions to improve cognitive performance.     

Interrupting situated practices: critical incidents in international partnerships

This paper examines the initial steps of an internationally funded project focused on enhancing teachers’ conceptual and pedagogical knowledge of literacy development in the Western Cape of South Africa. We asked what are the tensions and breakthroughs when engaged in international teacher professional development? Four lines of inquiry support this work: internationalization and production of knowledge, professional development structures, communities of practice, and ethic of care. Resulting themes included initial barriers, localized professional development, and enhancing teacher capacity for change. To explain the themes, we identified four critical incidents. This study has potential to inform the international community of new directions for teacher learning.     

Mine the process: investigating the cyclical nature of upper primary school students’ self-regulated learning

The present study investigates primary school students’ self-regulated learning (SRL) process by exploring the sequence in which SRL activities are conducted during learning. The aims of this study are twofold: investigating the presence of the theoretically hypothesized cyclical nature in students’ SRL process, as well as potential differences herein for high, average, and low achievers. Think-aloud data of 104 upper primary school students were analysed by means of process mining analysis. The results indicate that students commonly adopt a cyclical approach to learning by implementing preparatory, performance, and appraisal activities during learning. However, the results indicate clear differences in the quality of students’ SRL process. High achievers, compared to low and average achievers, show a more strategic and adaptive approach to learning during all phases of their learning process. They more strategically and effectively orient on and plan assignments, combine different cognitive strategies, and adopt self-evaluation to regulate their learning process.

     

Linking ethnic/racial discrimination to adolescent mental health: Sleep disturbances as an explanatory pathway

Ethnic/racial discrimination is associated with negative psychosocial outcomes, and this study considered sleep disturbance as a mediating pathway. Employing a combination of daily diary and biannual surveys, multilevel structural equation models estimated the indirect effects of sleep/wake concerns on negative, anxious, and positive mood, rumination, and somatic symptoms. In a sample of 350 urban Asian (74% Chinese, 8% Korean, 4% Indian, 1% Filipinx, 1% Vietnamese, and 12% other), Black, and Latinx (25% Dominican, 24% South American, 22% Mexican, 15% Puerto Rican, 5% Central American, and 9% other) youth (M = 14.27 years, 69% female, 77% U.S. born, 76% monoethnic/racial, data collected from 2015 to 2018), there was evidence for sleep disturbances mediating the impact of ethnic/racial discrimination on adjustment. Nighttime disturbance, daytime dysfunction, and daytime sleepiness evidenced partial or full mediation for daily- and person-level outcomes (υ = 0.1%–17.9%). Reciprocal associations between sleep disturbances and negative mood and rumination were also observed.     

Utilization of an Accelerated Queso Fresco Recipe to Teach Concepts of Food Science in a Didactic Program in Dietetics

Students in the Didactic Program in Dietetics (DPD) at the University of Maine were exposed to the cheese‐making process, within a lab setting of two hours, utilizing an accelerated recipe for a Queso Fresco‐style cheese. The purpose of this project was to provide students with a novel, hands‐on learning experience, which covered concepts of coagulating milk with enzymes and the treatment of curds during the cheese‐making process. The cheese recipe was tested three times by faculty and a teaching assistant to ensure standard results. The recipe, directions and procedures were adjusted and recorded. A standardized recipe and procedure were created for use in the student laboratory. Comparison of knowledge pre‐ and post‐experiment were analyzed using the Wilcoxon Signed‐Rank Test using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23.0. Thirty‐four students participated in the laboratory and when surveyed, expressed significant improvement in their understanding of the cheese‐making process (p <0.001). Students also rated themselves on a six‐step confidence scale from “not confident at all” to “very confident” in their understanding and ability in cheese‐making with 70.5 % of the 34 students participating reporting a three‐step increase in their confidence level. Students also completed a sensory evaluation of the recipe, utilizing a 9‐point Hedonic scale (1‐Dislike Extremely to 9‐Like Extremely), with over 88 % of students giving the product a positive overall acceptability rating. Through experience gained during the cheese‐making laboratory, students were able to apply concepts in food preparation, food science and sensory evaluation, all part of the curriculum content requirements of a DPD.