The effect of concept mapping on students' anxiety and achievement in biology

The results of recent studies into the use of the concept mapping heuristic seem to demonstrate that meaningful learning results through its use in science classrooms. While this underscores the need to use more effective instructional strategies in science teaching, the issue of the intervening variable of anxiety in learning and science achievement, and the possible use of a metacognitive strategy in anxiety reduction have not been addressed. This study, therefore, sought to find out if the metacognitive strategy of concept mapping reduces anxiety and thereby enhances achievement in biology. A total of 51 (30 boys, 21 girls) senior secondary one (grade 10) students participated in this experiment. Two instruments—the Zuckerman Affect Adjective Checklist and the Biology Achievement Test—were used in pre- and posttest administrations to measure the treatment effect on anxiety and achievement, respectively. Findings support the stand that concept mapping is significantly more effective than the traditional/expository teaching strategy in enhancing learning in biology. In addition, it apparently reduces students' anxiety towards the learning of biology. A significant reduction of anxiety was noticed for male subjects.     

Curriculum Design of a Flipped Classroom to Enhance Haematology Learning

A common trend in higher education is the “flipped” classroom, which facilitates active learning during class. The flipped approach to teaching was instituted in a haematology ‘major’ class and the students’ attitudes and preferences for the teaching materials were surveyed. The curriculum design was explicit and involved four major components (1) the preparation of the students; (2) the weekly pre-class work; (3) the in-class active learning strategies and (4) closing the learning loop using formative quizzes. Each of these components is discussed in detail and was informed by sound pedagogical strategies. Several different sources of information and several freely available software tools to engage the students are discussed. Two iterations are reported here, with improved pass rate for the final examination from 47 to 48 % in the traditional class to 56–65 % in the flipped classroom approach. The majority of students (93 and 89 %) came to the class prepared, after viewing the screencasts and engaged fully with the activities within the face-to-face time. The students perceived that solving case studies (93 %) was the most beneficial activity for their learning and this was closely followed by the production of essay plans (71 %). The majority of students recommended that this approach be repeated the following year (69 and 75 %).     

Pre-service physical education teachers’ Indigenous knowledge,cultural competency and pedagogy: a service learning intervention

In this paper, we investigate the effects of a community- and school-based service learning experience (SLE) on pre-service physical education teachers’ Indigenous knowledge, cultural competency and pedagogy. Informed by the theoretical tenets of Indigenous research methodologies, experiential learning and critical reflection, we examine 55 final-year pre-service physical education teachers’ (age: 21.9 [8.3]; 10.7% low SES; 68% females) cultural learning and competency in a core unit of study with a six-week SLE. Measures of their experiences included reflective journals, multicultural teaching competency scales and focus group interviews. Findings support the design of the SLE, with statistically significant changes in pre-service teachers’ perceptions of their cultural competency (p < 0.001). Pre-service teachers were able to challenge their assumptions about Indigenous students, plan and implement student-centred and culturally relevant pedagogies. Attention is drawn to the design of this SLE and demonstrates the importance of using Indigenous community members and teachers as mentors, which has not been explored in previous SLE studies.     

Improving the learning of Boolean queries by means of a multiobjective IQBE evolutionary algorithm

The Inductive Query By Example (IQBE) paradigm allows a system to automatically derive queries for a specific Information Retrieval System (IRS). Classic IRSs based on this paradigm [Smith, M., & Smith, M. (1997). The use of genetic programming to build Boolean queries for text retrieval through relevance feedback. Journal of Information Science, 23(6), 423–431] generate a single solution (Boolean query) in each run, that with the best fitness value, which is usually based on a weighted combination of the basic performance criteria, precision and recall.     

Acrosin activity in spermatozoa of infertile Nigerian males

The objective of this study was to evaluate acrosin activity in spermatozoa of infertile Nigerian men and to compare with those of the fertile men. The acrosin activity was evaluated using the Acroscreen reagent kit. The acrosin activity of the fertile men was 40.7±5.2 mIU/10⁶ sperm (range 30.1–51.3) and those of the infertile men was 22.4±8.33 mIU/10⁶ sperm (range 5.7–39.1). The difference in the mean was statistically significant (P<0.001). There was a subpopulation of the infertile men who had their acrosin activity within normal range of the fertile men, 32.9±1.57 mIU/10⁶ sperm. But the difference in the mean was statistically significant (P<0.001). Acrosin activity decreased with increased morphological changes in the spermatozoa. It is concluded that acrosin activity in the infertile Nigerian men is significantly lower than that in the fertile men. Acrosin activity may also be affected by morphological changes in the spermatozoa.     

pre-operative serum potassium levels and peri-operative outcomes in patients undergoing cardiac surgery

Although potassium is critical for normal electro physiology, the associations between pre-operative serum potassium level and peri-operative adverse events such as arrhythmias in cardiac surgery have not been examined in detail. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of abnormal pre-operative serum potassium levels and whether such levels were associated with adverse peri-operative events in 50 patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting. Intra-operative and post-operative arrhythmias, the need for cardio-pulmonary resuscitation, cardiac death and death due to any cause prior to discharge from the post-operative intensive care unit were studied. The incidence for adverse outcome was 0.5% for death, 0.5% for cardiac death and 2% for cardio pulmonary resuscitation in patients with hypokalemia (serum potassium level <3.5 meq. L⁻¹). Hypokalemia was found to be a predictor of serious peri-operative (OR:2.2; 95% Cl: 1.2–4.1) and post-operative arrhythmias (OR: 1.7;95%Cl: 1.0–2.7). Pre-operative potassium repletion is low cost and low risk treatment measure and the data from this study suggests that screening and repletion be considered in patients scheduled for cardiac surgery.     

Toward a resolution of inconsistencies in the phonological deficit theory of reading disorders: phonological reading difficulties are more severe in high-IQ poor readers

This study examined whether high- and low-IQ poor readers differed in patterns of reading performance. Ten-year-old poor readers with IQ scores of 110 and higher showed difficulty in taking a phonological approach to reading, failing to show an advantage in reading high-frequency regular versus irregular words and showing impaired nonword reading accuracy for their reading age. However, poor readers with IQ scores of 90 and below showed a more phonological approach to reading, with better reading of regular than irregular words of both high and low frequency, and with nonword reading skills slower than, but as accurate as, those of reading-age controls. We concluded that the high-IQ poor readers experienced difficulty in taking a phonological approach to reading, whereas the low-IQ poor readers had much less marked phonological problems, supporting Stanovich's phonological-core variable-difference model.     

Re-referral to child protective services: the influence of child, family, and case characteristics on risk status

INTRODUCTION: This study examines child, family, and case characteristics that impact rates of re-referral to Child Protective Services (CPS) using data on all closed CPS investigations for the state of Rhode Island between 2001 and 2004. METHOD: A longitudinal dataset of all referrals to CPS was created using state submissions to the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS). After excluding children whose initial CPS investigation resulted in removal from the home, a Cox proportional hazards model was tested to examine factors impacting the likelihood of re-referral. RESULTS: Consistent with other research in this area, the initial 6-month period following case disposition is the period of greatest risk of re-referral. Approximately 13% of cases experienced a recurrent allegation during the first 6-month period; an additional 14% experienced a re-referral over the following 12-month period; 7% during the next 12-month period. Family poverty was the strongest predictor of re-referral, though a number of child and case characteristics were significantly related to recurrence. Cases that were substantiated at index were significantly less likely to result in a new allegation, though substantiated cases of physical abuse or those receiving post-investigation services were at higher risk. CONCLUSIONS: Children from families facing multiple stressors (e.g., low SES, parental substance abuse child disability) are at highest risk of re-referral to CPS and may benefit from the development of preventive services targeted immediately following case closings within CPS.