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This study was designed to reveal the knowledge and skill sets that practicing day treatment and residential treatment EBD teachers view as important, and/or lacking, in novice EBD teachers, and to situate those findings within the larger contexts of teacher attrition and teacher preparation in special education. Primary results suggest that EBD teachers in day treatment and residential treatment centres believe knowledge of and implementation of best practices to be one of the most important prerequisites for effective practice in the EBD classroom, and one of the prerequisites most lacking by novice teachers. EBD teachers also indicated that knowledge of and appropriate use of behaviour management techniques was essential for effective practice, and also was reported to be lacking in novice teachers. In addition, EBD teachers reported a number of areas in which their teacher preparation programmes were perceived as lacking depth. Finally, certain personality attributes were identified as essential prerequisites for effective practice in the EBD classroom. Results are useful for teacher educators, teacher coaches, and school administrators.     

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Francesco M. Nicosia (ed.) Advertising, Management, and Society: A Business Point of View (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1974—available in hardback and paper but prices not given)

W.A. Evans' Advertising Today and Tomorrow (London: Allen & Unwin, 1974—about $15.00)

Robin Wright's The Day the Pigs Refused to Be Driven to Market: Advertising and the Counter Revolution (New York: Random House, 1974—$7.95)     

Evaluation of the effectiveness of 3D vascular stereoscopic models in anatomy instruction for first year medical students

The head and neck region is one of the most complex areas featured in the medical gross anatomy curriculum. The effectiveness of using three‐dimensional (3D) models to teach anatomy is a topic of much discussion in medical education research. However, the use of 3D stereoscopic models of the head and neck circulation in anatomy education has not been previously studied in detail. This study investigated whether 3D stereoscopic models created from computed tomographic angiography (CTA) data were efficacious teaching tools for the head and neck vascular anatomy. The test subjects were first year medical students at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. The assessment tools included: anatomy knowledge tests (prelearning session knowledge test and postlearning session knowledge test), mental rotation tests (spatial ability; presession MRT and postsession MRT), and a satisfaction survey. Results were analyzed using a Wilcoxon rank‐sum test and linear regression analysis. A total of 39 first year medical students participated in the study. The results indicated that all students who were exposed to the stereoscopic 3D vascular models in 3D learning sessions increased their ability to correctly identify the head and neck vascular anatomy. Most importantly, for students with low‐spatial ability, 3D learning sessions improved postsession knowledge scores to a level comparable to that demonstrated by students with high‐spatial ability indicating that the use of 3D stereoscopic models may be particularly valuable to these students with low‐spatial ability. Anat Sci Educ 10: 34–45. © 2016 American Association of Anatomists.     

Examining Determinants of Efficacy Judgments as Factors in Health Promotion Message Design

Self-efficacy is a predictor of behavioral performance across a range of health domains, and research suggests that media messages can effectively boost efficacy; however, much is unknown regarding determinants of self-efficacy, and the message features with the greatest potential to alter efficacy perceptions. The authors of this article examined skill and motivation as determinants of efficacy and tested their effectiveness as message variables. Study 1 identified health behaviors that young adults felt unable to perform, as well as behavior barriers and facilitators. Study 2 isolated one behavior, exercise, and tested messages targeting either skill or motivation as a determinant of self-efficacy to exercise. Matched messages engendered greater general self-efficacy than unmatched messages, though no differences emerged on self-efficacy magnitude and strength measures. Follow-up data indicated that participants low in motivation exercised more than those low in skill regardless of message condition. Implications of these findings for health promotion efforts are discussed.     

So young and already victims of stereotype threat: Socio-economic status and performance of 6 to 9 years old children on Raven’s progressive matrices

The aim of this study was to verify whether children from low socio-economic status (SES) are victims of stereotype threat. Children in first grade (6 to 7 years old) and third grade (8 to 9 years old) performed Raven’s progressive matrices, an intellectual ability test commonly used by psychologists. The test was presented either with the (evaluative) instructions recommended by Raven et al. (1998) or with non evaluative instructions. Children’s SES and beliefs concerning differences of abilities at school as a function of SES were also assessed. The results indicated that, as early as first grade, participants believed that children from high SES are better at school than children from low SES. Furthermore, low SES participants’ performance on the Raven’s matrices was lower in the evaluative condition than in the non evaluative condition. The experimental instructions did not affect high SES participants’ performance. The discussion explores implications of these results in the use of standardized tests to assess the intellectual abilities of low SES children.     

The Relation of Parental Affect and Control Behaviors to Children's Classroom Acceptance: A Concurrent and Predictive Analysis

The present study is a longitudinal examination of the relations between parental expressions of affect and parental control behaviors and children's classroom acceptance in kindergarten and first grade. One hundred-sixteen kindergarten-aged children and their parents were videotaped during physical play sessions and parents were rated on global affective and behavioral dimensions. Ratings of classroom social acceptance were provided by teachers and peers. Results indicated that parents' expressed positive and negative affect were related to children's classroom acceptance in kindergarten and in first grade. The most powerful and consistent predictor of children's social acceptance was fathers' expressed negative affect, particularly between father-son dyads. The current study emphasizes the importance of continued examination of linkages between the family and peer systems, especially with respect to the ways in which children's experiences in the family and school environments may mutually influence social development, and points to the need for further examination of the mechanisms by which multiple social contexts may influence children's behavior in the family and in school.     

Computer conferencing: a contribution to self-directed learning

This article describes computer conferencing in its educational context, particularly as a tool for encouraging greater autonomy in the learner. Conferencing experiments at the Open University with a large undergraduate course (1000–2000 students) are described, and guidelines proposed: the conferencing system must be integral to the course and related directly to an assessment, the facility must be easy to use and the conference moderator needs special skills to manage the conference. Various problems can arise, such as the non-participant 'lurker' and the dominant personality. Ways in which conferencing can improve educational interaction are suggested. With an innovation as untested as conferencing, it is premature to expect definitive answers; rather this paper poses questions and identifies issues about the role of conferencing in education in the future.     

Effects of active‐learning experiences on achievement,attitudes, and behaviors in high school biology

Active‐learning labs for two topics in high school biology were developed through the collaboration of high school teachers and university faculty and staff and were administered to 408 high school students in six classrooms. The content of instruction and testing was guided by State of Texas science objectives. Detailed teacher records describing daily classroom activities were used to operationalize two types of instruction: active learning, which used the labs; and traditional, which used the teaching resources ordinarily available to the teacher. Teacher records indicated that they used less independent work and fewer worksheets, and more collaborative and lab‐based activities, with active‐learning labs compared to traditional instruction. In‐class test data show that students gained significantly more content knowledge and knowledge of process skills using the labs compared to traditional instruction. Questionnaire data revealed that students perceived greater learning gains after completing the labs compared to covering the same content through traditional methods. An independent questionnaire administered to a larger sample of teachers who used the lab‐based curriculum indicated that they perceived changing their behaviors as intended by the student‐centered principles of the labs. The major implication of this study is that active‐learning–based laboratory units designed and developed collaboratively by high school teachers and university faculty, and then used by high school teachers in their classrooms, can lead to increased use of student‐centered instructional practices as well as enhanced content knowledge and process learning for students. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 44: 960–979, 2007