Defining attitude for science educators

A distinct and complex definition of attitude is evolving within the literature. A mental readiness to respond and a correlational consistency between attitude and behavior—although controversial and in need of further study and analysis—remain viable subcomponents within the definition. Most agree that evaluation is the heartbeat of attitude. The impact of social influence on attitudes is becoming increasingly important. Attitudes are learned and not inherited.     

Student outcomes with rotation of teachers in secondary biology

Look carefully at outcomes in the affective domain before exchanging a classroom with a rotating staff for the conventional one teacher design.     

Transfer of facilitation in the rat

In two experiments, rats solved two concurrent discrimination problems in which one stimulus (i.e., a facilitator) signaled the reinforcement of another stimulus (i.e., a target). Then a transfer test assessed the capacity of facilitators trained in one problem to promote responding to targets trained in the other. Experiment 1 found that a facilitator promoted as much responding to such a transfer target as to the target with which it was originally trained. Transfer was not obtained with a pseudofacilitator that was uninformative, in training, about the reinforcement of its target. Experiment 2 manipulated the stimulus modality of the targets and facilitators. Its results indicated that transfer performance was not due to generalization between training and transfer targets or facilitators. These results parallel those from comparable autoshaping paradigms with pigeons, and they agree with the view that facilitators promote responding by lowering the threshold for activation of the US representation.     

Perception and practice of writing for publication by faculty at a doctoral-granting university

Of a faculty of 685 at a doctoral-granting university, 400 completed a questionnaire (the Writing Habits Survey) indicating the patterns and conditions under which they write for publication, the techniques they employ to facilitate their writing, and the factors that inhibit their writing. Overall, faculty seemed to devote substantial efforts to writing, they reported using rather unsystematic methods of writing, and they cited a lack of time as the chief constraint on their writing. The most productive writers seemed to work at writing in a regular (as opposed to sporadic) fashion, to have little anxiety about writing, and to minimize negative attitudes about the editorial process.     

A review of research on teachers’ use of student data: from the perspective of school leadership

Despite the increased worldwide acknowledgment of the importance of teachers’ use of formative and/or summative assessment data to improve teaching and learning, empirical research on its impacts on student learning is sparse. Even more so is the lack of studies on the best ways for school leaders to develop teachers’ capacity. Teachers generally have low efficacy in using student data to inform their day-to-day instructions. Teachers lack the basic skills to understand, interpret, and analyze data, develop instructional strategies based on data, and implement research-based instructional strategies in classrooms to address the weaknesses reflected from data analysis results. Any gap in this chain of instructional actions would lead to ineffective teaching and learning in classrooms. This study synthesizes research located from on-line databases on teachers’ data use conducted in the last 14 years and examines the nature, impacts, and shapers of teachers’ use of student formative and/or summative assessment data to improve teaching and learning. This review provides a much-needed guide to school leaders and policy makers in the USA, as well to other jurisdictions that want to make evidence-based decisions in the hopes of improving student learning and teachers’ capacity in data use.     

A review of recent research in the area of initial fraction concepts

This paper reviews recent research in the area of initial fraction concepts. The common goal of the empirical studies which are represented in this analysis was to assist children develop a meaningful understanding of the rational number construct, founded on durable fraction concepts. Two interpretations of findings were derived from the research. One group of researchers identified initial fraction concepts emerging from the application of intuitive mechanisms, in particular partitioning in either continuous or discrete contexts, and leading to unit identification and iteration of the unit. The other group of researchers identified ideas of ratio and proportion present in young children's early thoughts about fractions.By generating links between studies, integrated research is created and consensus regarding critical problems and future directions is reached. Concluding remarks pose questions for further investigation.     

Text-signaling devices and their effects on reading and memory processes

Signals are writing devices that emphasize aspects of a text's content or structure without adding to the content of the the text. Findings are reviewed for studies of several different types of signaling devices, including: titles, headings, previews, overviews, summaries, typographical cues, recall sentences, number signals, importance indicators, and summary indicators. Most investigations have examined how the presence of signals in a text affects subsequent memory for the text. Virtually all types of signals produce better memory for information they cue in a text, whereas memory for unsignaled information often is unaffected. Less attention has been directed to signaling effects on other cognitive processes, such as attention, basic reading processes, and comprehension. It is argued that an understanding of how signals influence these processes will contribute to the application of signaling research to reading and writing instruction and to our general understanding of reading.     

Preventative Reading Interventions Teaching Direct Mapping of Graphemes in Texts and Set-for-Variability Aid At-Risk Learners

We evaluated two experimenter-delivered, small-group word reading programs among at-risk poor readers in Grade 1 classes of regular elementary schools using a two-arm, dual-site-matched control trial intervention. At-risk poor word readers (n = 201) were allocated to either (a) Direct Mapping and Set-for-Variability (DMSfV) or (b) Current or Best-Practices small-group reading programs, typically for 10–11 hr over 10 weeks. Students were matched on baseline reading and language abilities, parent demographic measures, and observed regular classroom teaching quality. Results of hierarchical data modeling showed advantages for the DMSfV program (p < .05 for word reading and spelling at posttest and word reading and sentence comprehension at 5-month delayed posttest), with discernible valued added for the DMSfV condition across all follow-up measures. Results support the use of small-group preventative literacy intervention models that teach both direct mapping of grapheme–phoneme correspondences in text and set-for-variability.