Jonah’s Birth

Rachel Goldstein shares her experience of exploring options related to care provider and place of birth early in her pregnancy. Goldstein and her husband, Marc, after reading and research, chose midwifery care and a home birth. She shares the story of a long labor at home supported by her husband, her doula, and her midwife. Her positive attitude, her ability to use various comfort strategies, and the support she received throughout labor contributed to being able to give birth naturally and ecstatically to her son Jonah.     

DIFFERENT TYPES OF ACTION RESEARCH TO PROMOTE CHEMISTRY TEACHERS’ PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT—A JOINED THEORETICAL REFLECTION ON TWO CASES FROM ISRAEL AND GERMANY

Action research is defined as using research activities to develop concrete societal practices. Action research understands the change of practice as being already a central aim of the research process itself, and it also seeks to contribute to the professional development of all participants in the particular field of study. Even though (or maybe even because) action research has a long history in the literature, there is a wide variety of interpretations of it. These range all the way from research supportive, via interactive, to emancipatory approaches. There is also a broad range of objectives covering both improving professional environments and generating results of general interest. This paper explores the spectrum of justifications given for action research with a specific focus on science education. Two completely different examples of action research selected from Israel and Germany help illustrate the diversity of the topic. The Israeli case focuses primarily on the professional development of a group of teachers; the German example hones in on the development of suitable curricula and lesson plans for wide dissemination. Comparison of these two projects is embedded in a theoretical framework which categorizes the different action research modes and contemplates teachers?? professional development. The aim of this paper is to reflect upon the common potential inherent in differing forms of action research on science education, including the aspect of professional development among teachers.     

Magnetic compass orientation in C57BL/6J mice

We report evidence for a robust magnetic compass response in C57BL/6J mice. Mice were trained to build their nests in one of four magnetic directions by creating a light gradient along the long axis of a rectangular cage and positioning a nest box at the opposite (dark) end. The mice were then tested overnight in a circular, visually symmetrical arena in one of four magnetic field alignments. The positions of the nests built in the test arena showed strong unimodal orientation in the magnetic direction coinciding with the dark end of the training cage.     

Plain language summaries: Enabling increased diversity,equity, inclusion and accessibility in scholarly publishing

• Plain language summaries (PLS) are accessible, short, peer-reviewed summaries of scholarly journal articles written in non-technical language.
• The aim of PLS is to enable a broader audience of experts and non-experts to understand the original article.
• Here, we outline the evidence base for the value and impact of PLS and how they can enable diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility in scholarly publishing.
• PLS can diversify readership and authorship, address information inequity, include typically under-represented stakeholders and provide an accessible route into scholarly literature.

     

Categorizations of the interface of evolution and religion

Cultural Studies of Science Education - This piece responds to the article by Arif Rachmatullah, Soonhye Park, and Minsu Ha “Crossing borders between science and religion: Muslim Indonesian...     

India’s National Science Talent Search Examination (1963–1976)

Science & Education - India’s National Science Talent Search (NSTS) examination (1963 to 1976) was imagined and implemented by some top scientists of the period. It aimed to identify...