GROWING AS TEACHER EDUCATORS: Learning New Professional Development Practices

This article examines the ways that, in Holocaust education in Jewish schools in Melbourne and New York at the beginning of the 21st century, knowledge of the Holocaust is transferred to students in chronological form. It begins by asking: What work do chronological narratives do within the Holocaust historical narratives offered within Jewish high school classrooms? In order to explore this question, examples from curricula and interviews with the teachers are explored. It is argued that while the use of chronological narratives within the high-school classroom to narrate historical events is not unique to the teaching of the Holocaust, the work which this narrative form does is particular to the negotiation of the traumatic aftermath of the Holocaust.     

Using the results of a satisfaction survey to demonstrate the impact of a new library service model

Background: In 2005, the University of Calgary entered into a contract to provide library services to the staff and physicians of Alberta Health Services Calgary Zone (AHS CZ), creating the Health Information Network Calgary (HINC). Objectives: A user satisfaction survey was contractually required to determine whether the new library service model created through the agreement with the University of Calgary was successful. Our additional objective was to determine whether information and resources provided through the HINC were making an impact on patient care. Methods: A user satisfaction survey of 18 questions was created in collaboration with AHS CZ contract partners and distributed using the snowball or convenience sample method. Results: Six hundred and ninety-four surveys were returned. Of respondents, 75% use the HINC library services. More importantly, 43% of respondents indicated that search results provided by library staff had a direct impact on patient care decisions. Conclusions: Alberta Health Services Calgary Zone staff are satisfied with the new service delivery model, they are taking advantage of the services offered, and using library provided information to improve patient care.     

Expanded Markers of Success in Introductory University Physics

As part of our Physics Education Research Group efforts to transform the physics instruction at Florida International University (FIU), we have focused attention on how to assess the reforms we implement. In this paper, we argue that the physics education community should expand the ways that it measures students' success beyond grades and conceptual inventory scores to include assessments of students' participation in a learning community and changes in their attitudes. We present case studies of three introductory undergraduate physics students' increasing participation in the physics learning community at FIU, which is a large, urban, Hispanic-serving institution. In previous work, we have reported gains in conceptual learning and attitudes about learning science in those students enrolled in the introductory courses at FIU taught with Modeling Instruction, which operates in a collaborative learning environment [Brewe, E., Kramer, L., & O'Brien, G. (2009 Brewe, E., Kramer, L., & O'Brien, G. (2009). Modeling instruction: Positive attitudinal shifts in introductory physics measured with CLASS. Physical Review Special Topics—Physics Education Research, 5(1). doi: 10.1103/PhysRevSTPER.5.013102  [Google Scholar]). Modeling instruction: Positive attitudinal shifts in introductory physics measured with CLASS. Physical Review Special Topics—Physics Education Research, 5(1). doi: 10.1103/PhysRevSTPER.5.013102]. This paper expands upon those results in considering the variety of opportunities for participating in the physics learning community and by closely examining three aspect of student participation: students' attitudes about learning physics, their ties within the physics classroom, and their relationships within the physics learning community. This provides a more comprehensive understanding of how students in underrepresented groups may become successful physics learners.     

Dump-and-Chase: The Effectiveness of Persistence as a Sequential Request Compliance-Gaining Strategy

Two field experiments were performed assessing the effectiveness of the dump-and-chase, a compliance-gaining technique employing strategic persistence. These two experiments demonstrate the effectiveness of the dump-and-chase relative to other known compliance-gaining techniques. Experiment 1 found the dump-and-chase more effective than pooled data from the door-in-the-face and placebic information technique. Experiment 2 found the dump-and-chase more effective than the door-in-the-face, placebic information, and foot-in-the-door. The dump-and-chase produced consistently higher compliance-gaining proportions across experiments. Moreover, because the contextual features of two experiments differed substantially, the effect was robust to important contextual differences.     

A Confirmatory Factor Analysis of the Life Orientation Test—Revised With Competitive Athletes

Current reviews outside of sport indicate that the Life Orientation Test-Revised (LOT-R) items load on two separate factors (optimism and pessimism) and, therefore, should be treated as independent constructs. However, researchers in the sport sciences continue to use the single composite score reflecting a unidimensional definition of optimism. Hence, I sought to explicitly examine the factor structure of the LOT-R with athletes. Results of this study support the two-factor structure, which is consistent with accumulating evidence outside of sport and exercise science. This contribution is an important first step toward continued examination of this instrument and future work on the influence of optimism (versus pessimism) on sport and exercise behavior.     

The Cobbler's Children: Improving Performance Improvement at Amerigroup

A team of performance consultants at Amerigroup applied their chosen human performance technology (HPT) methodology, Six Boxes^® Performance Thinking, to define their own performance, identify improvement opportunities, and build performance infrastructure in the form of clearer expectations and regular feedback, better processes and tools, and more relevant consequences, all while developing their own skills and knowledge and conducting client projects using the methodology. This article summarizes the context, process, and accomplishments to date, along with the lessons learned from this ongoing effort.     

Interpreting relational meanings: The influence of sex and gender‐role

This study addresses three types of sex differences in relational communication. Male and female respondents completed an assessment of gender‐role measuring agency and communion and read four scenarios with messages attributed to male and female sources. Respondents rated the relational dimensions of affiliation and dominance. Female sources are judged higher in affiliation. Sex and agency interact with situation for perceptions of affiliation. Situation and communion affect judgments of dominance. Individuals higher in communion perceive less dominance. The results provide insight into dominance and affiliation as competing frames for interpreting situations.     

Analysis of reference sources used in drug-related Wikipedia articles

Objective

References from drug-related Wikipedia articles and a drug information database were compared.

Methods

Drugs in Food and Drug Administration (FDA) MedWatch alerts from January–July 2013 were searched in Wikipedia and Lexicomp to compare reference types and to assess the time for drug safety information to be incorporated into Wikipedia articles.

Results

Wikipedia most commonly cited peer-reviewed journal articles (49.2%) and news articles (12.0%). MedWatch citations were incorporated into Wikipedia on average in 5.9 days.

Conclusions

Wikipedia cited various sources but may not be a reliable, up-to-date resource for drug safety information.     

A mixed methods analysis of the effects of an integrative geobiological study of petrified wood in introductory college geology classrooms

Mixed methods research conducted across three semesters in introductory college geology classes (n = 187, 190, 138) attempted to ascertain whether integrated study of petrified wood could serve as a portal to improved student geobiological understanding of fossilization, geologic time, and evolution. The Petrified Wood Survey? was administered as a preinstructional and postinstructional assessment in control and experimental classes; the experimental class received integrated petrified wood instruction. Paired t tests of differences in students' pre‐ and postinstructional scores for control and experimental groups revealed significance (α = 0.05, effect size = 0.79, confidence interval 0.56–1.01). The students with integrative study showed greater knowledge gains about petrified wood's abundance, properties, nature, location, and geologic time. However, understanding of fossilization geochemistry remained problematic for both groups. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 44: 1011–1035, 2007