Relations Among Two Teachers’ Practices and Beliefs,Conceptualizations of the Nature of Science,and their Implementation of Student Independent Inquiry Projects

In this study we sought to understand factors that shaped teachers’ use of student inquiry projects. We examined, over 3 years, the practices and conceptions of two teachers involved in implementing student inquiry projects. Neither teacher was initially satisfied with her success at supporting student inquiry, but the two had very different responses to difficulties they faced. These responses related strongly to their ideas about how learning should be structured. There was less relation between their stated views about the nature of science and their use of inquiry than was expected. The teacher with espoused views about the nature of science generally in accord with reform documents did not support student inquiry projects that involved actual investigations. The teacher with views on the nature of science less aligned with reform documents worked hard to support student investigations in her classroom. Our findings support the claim that merely learning about the nature of science or about student inquiry may not generate changes in a teacher’s practice. On closer analysis, we found that the two teachers understood aspects of the nature of science from two quite different perspectives, the proximal and the distal. The proximal view of the nature of science was more closely aligned with implementation of actual student investigations. The efforts of these two teachers in implementing inquiry illustrate the dilemmas and challenges they faced as they attempted student inquiry projects.     

The Short-Term Effects of a Computer-Based Pregnancy,STD, and HIV Prevention Program

A computer- and Internet-based intervention was designed to influence several variables related to the prevention of pregnancy, STDs, and HIV in rural adolescents. Three-hundred and thirty-eight tenth-graders enrolled in two rural public high schools participated in this field experiment. Results indicate that students in the experimental school had greater knowledge, greater condom negotiation efficacy, greater situational efficacy, and more favorable attitudes toward waiting to have sex than students in the control school. In tandem, the results suggest that computer-based programs may be a cost-effective and easily replicable means of providing teens with basic information and skills necessary to prevent pregnancy, STDs, and HIV.     

Navigating the Long and Winding Path of Post-tenure Review: The Arizona Story

This article by two former faculty leaders describes the development and implementation of the Arizona post tenure review policy, with particular emphasis on the Arizona State University experience. This policy had to balance the somewhat different expectations of the Arizona Board of Regents, the faculty, and university administration. The article outlines the communication strategies used in negotiations with regents and faculty groups and draws lessons for other university systems which may be commencing their own journey down the long and winding path of post tenure review development and implementation.     

?Between rationality and politics?: autobiographical portraits of adult education programme planning

Using the author's experience as the coordinator of the Canadian Agriculture Lifetime Leadership programme as a case study, this article provides an interpretive essay about programme planning in adult education. Two conceptual frameworks are used to structure narratives of the programme planning process. The first asserts that programme planning is the rational application of a six-step decision-making model. The second claims that programme planning is the political negotiation of personal and organizational interests. Through two autobiographical narratives, this article explores how technical-rational and political models of programme planning further our understanding of adult education practises. In addition to contributing a detailed case study to the literature on programme planning, the article speaks to contemporary empirical and normative debates in adult education.     

Second-order conditioning detects unexpressed morphine-induced salt aversion

Morphine failed to condition a salt taste aversion at a dose (15 mg/kg) sufficient to produce a robust aversion to a saccharin taste. Indeed, three different concentrations of salt (1%, 1.5%, and 2%) paired with the same morphine dose yielded no direct evidence for conditioned aversion. Yet, when a novel saccharin taste was paired in compound with the previously conditioned salt conditioned stimulus, we found evidence for a conditioning to the saccharin cue alone in three separate experiments. Control groups eliminated alternative accounts such as neophobia and differential exposure to morphine. Combined, these findings indicate that morphine conditioned a salt aversion. Although this aversion was not directly expressed, a second-order conditioning procedure was able to provide a more sensitive index of conditioning.     

A dialogue on employability skills: How can they be taught?

Robert Bhaerman is a Research and Development Specialist at the National Center for Research in Vocational Education at The Ohio State University. Rick Spill is an employment and training consultant working primarily with the United States Department of Labor, state JTPA divisions, Private Industry Councils, and local education agencies.     

Cultural Orientation Trajectories and Substance Use: Findings From a Longitudinal Study of Mexican‐Origin Youth

Cultural adaptation may influence Latino youth substance use (SU) development, yet few longitudinal studies have examined cultural change over time and adolescent SU outcomes. Using longitudinal data collected annually across ages 10–16 from 674 Mexican‐origin youth (50% female), the authors characterized cultural adaptation patterns for language use (English and Spanish use), values (American values and familism values), and identity (ethnic pride), and examined whether these cultural adaptation patterns were associated with differential SU risk. Youth with increasing bilingualism and high/stable family values had lower SU risk compared to youth who primarily spoke English and endorsed decreasing family values, respectively. Ethnic pride trajectories were not associated with SU. Findings highlight the importance of considering cultural change related to Latino youth SU.