The Particular Aspects of Science Museum Exhibits That Encourage Students’ Engagement

This research explores learning in science museums through the most common activity in a science museum—interaction with exhibits. The goal of this study was to characterize the learning behaviors exhibited by students as they engage with interactive exhibits in order to draw insight regarding the design of the exhibits. In order to do so, we used a qualitative method of observation as well as the Visitor Engagement Framework (VEF) model, a visitor-based framework for assessing visitors’ learning experiences with exhibits in a science center setting. The combined method produced a framework of nine learning behaviors exhibited during the visitors’ interaction with the exhibits, grouped into three categories that reflect increasing levels of engagement and depth of the learning experience. Our research participants consisted of a total 1800 students aged 10–12 (4th, 5th, and 6th graders) who came to the museum with their class for a day visit. We observed nine exhibits, each visited by 200 students. Our observations revealed several design elements that contribute to engagement with exhibits in science museums. For example, exhibits that have familiar activation encourage visitors’ interaction, exhibits that facilitate social interaction are more likely to increase engagement, and the highest levels of engagement can be found in exhibits that support large groups.     

Patterns of Competence and Adjustment among Adolescents from Authoritative, Authoritarian, Indulgent, and Neglectful Families

In order to test Maccoby and Martin's revision of Baumrind's conceptual framework, the families of approximately 4,100 14-18-year-olds were classified into 1 of 4 groups (authoritative, authoritarian, indulgent, or neglectful) on the basis of the adolescents' ratings of their parents on 2 dimensions: acceptance/involvement and strictness/supervision. The youngsters were then contrasted along 4 sets of outcomes: psychosocial development, school achievement, internalized distress, and problem behavior. Results indicate that adolescents who characterize their parents as authoritative score highest on measures of psychosocial competence and lowest on measures of psychological and behavioral dysfunction; the reverse is true for adolescents who describe their parents as neglectful. Adolescents whose parents are characterized as authoritarian score reasonably well on measures indexing obedience and conformity to the standards of adults but have relatively poorer self-conceptions than other youngsters. In contrast, adolescents from indulgent homes evidence a strong sense of self-confidence but report a higher frequency of substance abuse and school misconduct and are less engaged in school. The results provide support for Maccoby and Martin's framework and indicate the need to distinguish between two types of "permissive" families: those that are indulgent and those that are neglectful.     

Neuro‐sensori‐motor dysfunction in young children with educational and behavioural problems and controls

The theoretical importance of neuro‐sensori‐motor areas,” particularly of the proprioceptive and vestibular systems, to optimal functioning in the classroom is outlined, together with exceptionalities where dificits have been reported. Children of normal intelligence but referred with learning and behavioural problems were assessed by a multidisciplinary team and the results of the neuro‐sensori‐motor assessment are compared with those from a control group. The children referred by medical or guidance officers had much higher deficits than the randomly sampled pre‐school children, including deficits in labyrinthine righting in 97%, occulomotor functioning in 80% and proprioception in 79%.     

A message to special education from mothers of disabled children

A conference, organised by the National Womens Advisory Council for women who had given birth to a disabled child, was attended by 150 participants from throughout Australia. The major issues and recommendations relevant to special education are presented in this paper. Issues included the need for accurate and honest information, particularly at birth or diagnosis, as well as the importance of sensitivity, and of skill in counselling, in all professional and community workers at all times. More comprehensive provisions in pre‐school, school and continuing educational services were requested and Governments were asked to look carefully at many problem areas, such as adequate financial support, accessible and cheap transport and the need to establish a ministry for the disabled. Everyone concerned with educational services should become advocates for the disabled and their families, particularly to improve community attitudes towards and services for the disabled.     

Puberty Predicts Approach But Not Avoidance on the Iowa Gambling Task in a Multinational Sample

According to the dual systems model of adolescent risk taking, sensation seeking and impulse control follow different developmental trajectories across adolescence and are governed by two different brain systems. The authors tested whether different underlying processes also drive age differences in reward approach and cost avoidance. Using a modified Iowa Gambling Task in a multinational, cross‐sectional sample of 3,234 adolescents (ages 9–17; M = 12.87, SD = 2.36), pubertal maturation, but not age, predicted reward approach, mediated through higher sensation seeking. In contrast, age, but not pubertal maturation, predicted increased cost avoidance, mediated through greater impulse control. These findings add to evidence that adolescent behavior is best understood as the product of two interacting, but independently developing, brain systems.     

What Evidence Do You Have?

Your evidence constrains your rational degrees of confidenceboth locally and globally. On the one hand, particular bitsof evidence can boost or diminish your rational degree of confidencein various hypotheses, relative to your background information.On the other hand, epistemic rationality requires that, forany hypothesis h, your confidence in h is proportional to thesupport that h receives from your total evidence. Why is itthat your evidence has these two epistemic powers? I argue thatvarious proposed accounts of what it is for something to bean element of your evidence set cannot answer this question.I then propose an alternative account of what it is for somethingto be an element of your evidence set.

1 Introduction

2 Theelements of one's evidence set are propositions

3 Which kindsof propositions are in one's evidence set?

3.1 Doxastic accountsof evidence

3.2 Non-doxastic accountsof evidence

4 Elaboratingand defending the LIE

     

REDEFINING BUREAU EFFECTIVENESS

As central agencies for Jewish education face the year 2000, they must address both their past shortcomings, considering theme challenges for the future, and past successes which will require redefinition and reinvestment of human and financial resources for the future. The bureau movement would be well served in adopting Rav Kook's aphorism — “The Old Should be Renewed and the New Invested with Holiness” — as its motto.     

Unilateral and bilateral patellofemoral pain in young female dancers: Associated factors

ABSTRACT

Aiming to evaluate the prevalence of unilateral/bilateral patellofemoral pain (PFP) among young dancers, and to investigate whether different factors are associated with PFP in young dancers, 132 dancers aged 12–14 years were assessed for PFP. Anthropometric parameters, proprioception ability, dynamic postural balance (DPB), and muscle strength were measured. PFP was found in 64.1% of the dancers. No significant differences in the prevalence of dancers with no, unilateral, or bilateral PFP at different ages were found. Significant age effects were found for anthropometric and developmental measurements, and for intensity of training. PFP effect was found for DPB asymmetry, ankle proprioception, and leg-length %height. A higher hip abductor/adductor ratio was associated with PFP in 14-year-old dancers. Binomial logistic regression showed that increased number of hours per day (h/day) and decreased number of hours per week (h/week), low proprioception scores, greater leg length as %height, and more anterior DPB asymmetry were significant predictors of PFP. In conclusion: unilateral/bilateral PFP is common among young dancers. Body morphology, reduced ankle proprioception ability, DPB asymmetry, and increased h/day of practice are associated with PFP. Dance teachers should start monitoring the impact of training and implement injury modification/prevention strategies when their students are at a young age.     

Learning, knowing and being in the world: postformalism, Einstein, and lessons from a kid named Larry

I describe how Joe Kincheloe experienced learning from a peer during his pre-school life only to see how his friend was unable to succeed at school. Joe’s commitment to empowered cognition was grounded first, by his friend, Larry’s mentorship—teaching him the environmental nuances of the mountains in rural Tennessee, and secondly, the contradiction of schooling being unable to afford learning for Larry. This article discusses how Kincheloe became a scholar, the salience of Einstein’s work with his own, and the evolution of his research and scholarship. Examples of Kincheloe’s work addressed are: postformalism, bricolage, critical theory, and alternative knowledges, and how this work has contributed to science education.

Age Differences in Future Orientation and Delay Discounting

Age differences in future orientation are examined in a sample of 935 individuals between 10 and 30 years using a delay discounting task as well as a new self-report measure. Younger adolescents consistently demonstrate a weaker orientation to the future than do individuals aged 16 and older, as reflected in their greater willingness to accept a smaller reward delivered sooner than a larger one that is delayed, and in their characterizations of themselves as less concerned about the future and less likely to anticipate the consequences of their decisions. Planning ahead, in contrast, continues to develop into young adulthood. Future studies should distinguish between future orientation and impulse control, which may have different neural underpinnings and follow different developmental timetables.