"Have I learnt it?" Evaluating skills for resource-based study using electronic resources

Electronic information resources are increasingly in use for courses at all levels of Higher Education. They may be employed as reference material when researching particular topics for assignments, as part of a conventionally structured course, or alternatively their use may be a central part of resource based course philosophy. Whilst the use of these resources may offer many advantages in terms of developing more independent learners, there are also information handling skills which students must acquire. This paper discusses the relevance of these skills and the factors influencing their acquisition for students on two networked resource based courses at the UK Open University     

Extracurricular Activities,Screen Media Activity,and Sleep May Be Modifiable Factors Related to Children’s Cognitive Functioning: Evidence From the ABCD Study®

This study used a machine learning framework in conjunction with a large battery of measures from 9,718 school-age children (ages 9–11) from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development^SM (ABCD) Study to identify factors associated with fluid cognitive functioning (FCF), or the capacity to learn, solve problems, and adapt to novel situations. The identified algorithm explained 14.74% of the variance in FCF, replicating previously reported socioeconomic and mental health contributors to FCF, and adding novel and potentially modifiable contributors, including extracurricular involvement, screen media activity, and sleep duration. Pragmatic interventions targeting these contributors may enhance cognitive performance and protect against their negative impact on FCF in children.     

A road map for change: ensuring that women have breastfeeding support

Despite new policy changes and national dialogue about breastfeeding, significant barriers in all sectors of society continue to exist for most women who decide to breastfeed. Breastfeeding rates fall short of current medical recommendations and our nation's own public health goals, resulting in significant health and economic impacts. The launch of The Surgeon General's Call to Action to Support Breastfeeding provides an opportunity for a society-wide approach in removing barriers that make it difficult for many women to succeed. Childbirth educators are urged to use these action steps as a springboard to influence lasting change so that all women have the opportunity to breastfeed their children.     

Identifying English Language Learners with Learning Disabilities: Key Challenges and Possible Approaches

The need for effective approaches for identifying English language learners with learning disabilities is great and growing. Meeting this need is complicated by recent developments in the field of learning disabilities that are unrelated to the English language learning status, and by limitations in existing knowledge specific to the identification of English language learners with learning disabilities. We review recent developments in the field of learning disabilities concerning the need for earlier identification, the need for a more appropriate conceptualization of learning disability, and the need for more effective assessments and treatments. We discuss challenges to assessment and identification of English language learners with learning disabilities, provide examples of two approaches to meeting these challenges, and describe some remaining challenges.     

From opportunity to reality: transition into engineering education,trauma or transformation?

ABSTRACT

Transition into university can prove to be a challenging time for young people entering engineering education, irrespective of previous educational experience or demographic background. It is such challenges that this article considers. Commencing by looking at the pragmatic issues associated with transition, the question of whether starting university is a time of transformation or trauma for new engineering students is discussed. Following this, a conceptual framework grounded in the authors previous work depicts a tripartite approach to transition, identifying three interlinked phases that new students typically encounter. The conclusion suggests that through the introduction of realistic and socially relevant engineering activities, transition into engineering education is the ideal time to turn opportunity into reality for new students.     

Academic literacies and e-learning: A critical approach to writing in the online university

This paper adopts an academic literacies perspective to argue for a critical approach to the writing practices of the online university classroom. It describes an on-going action research project in an online Masters in Online and Distance Education (MAODE) programme at the UK Open University, which aims to create an online writing resource to support distance learners in developing a critical awareness of the writing practices on the programme. The paper presents the results of an evaluation study of this resource during the 2005 presentation of the MAODE, and discusses the evidence from this study that such a resource can provide a space for students to critique the dominant literacies of the online university.     

Why children tell: a model of children's disclosure of sexual abuse

OBJECTIVE: The present study investigated variables associated with delay of disclosure of child sexual abuse and tested a model of time to disclosure. METHOD: Data were obtained for 218 alleged child sexual abuse victims whose cases had been referred to District Attorneys' Offices. Five variables were posited to influence the delay between an abusive event and children's disclosure of that event to a reporting adult: child's age, gender, type of abuse experienced (intrafamilial or extrafamilial), perceived responsibility for the abuse, and fear of negative consequences of disclosure. These variables were used to create a model of factors influencing children's disclosure of sexual abuse. RESULTS: Results indicated that age, type of abuse, fear of negative consequences, and perceived responsibility all contributed to predicting time to disclosure. There was significant support for the model, suggesting that children who were older, came from incestuous families, felt greater responsibility for the abuse, and feared negative consequences of disclosure took longer to disclose. CONCLUSIONS: Children's cognitive appraisal of others' tolerance of disclosure of child sexual abuse, and their own perceptions of responsibility for the abuse, are crucial to the decision to disclose. When evaluating children for possible sexual abuse, developmental, cognitive, and socio-emotional factors need to be taken into consideration.     

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     

Denominational schools and public schooling

The author argues that the critical question in determining whether denominational schools should receive public funding is: Does the school provide an education in accordance with publicly accepted criteria for that concept and in accordance with the dominant values in society? A public system of schooling has itsraison d'être in the need to provide a common understanding. This is not incompatible with acceptance of private schools, nor, despiteprima facie oddity, is there anything incoherent about the idea of providing state funding for private schools. So far as denominational schools go, therefore, the conclusion is that they are deserving of state support provided that they do not promote values and beliefs antithetical to the larger community, and, specifically, that they do not engage in the anti-educational practice of indoctrination.