Children-at-risk for poor nutrition: expanding the approach of future professionals in educational institutions

Objectives

To examine how the subject of nutrition is being addressed in the work with children at risk of poor nutrition in educational institutions and what the barriers are which may hinder inclusion of this subject.

Methods

A structured questionnaire was constructed for the purpose of this study and was implemented with 111 students in Israel who are working in their internships in educational institutions with children who are exposed to risk factors of poor nutrition (e.g., parental neglect, lack of knowledge, poverty).

Results

Participants attributed a high level of importance to integrating nutrition-related components in their work. However, the findings indicate less emphasis on nutrition-related components than on psycho-social-educational components, as well as a low level of collaboration with specialists in the area of nutrition. In addition, it was found that knowledge-based barriers and institutional-related systemic barriers may hinder future teachers’ capabilities to incorporate those components despite their favorable approach towards this subject.

Conclusions

The findings illuminate the need to reduce barriers hampering the individual work with children at risk of poor nutrition in educational institutions.

Practice implications

In the training of future teachers, there is a need to advance a bio-psycho-social educational approach incorporating a knowledge base about assessing situations of poor nutrition, including how to advance an interdisciplinary collaboration with specialists in the area of nutrition.     

Using Science Teaching Case Narratives to Evaluate the Level of Acceptance of Scientific Inquiry Teaching in Preservice Elementary Teachers

The National Science Education Standards have outlined flexible processes children perform when engaging in scientific inquiry. Cases narratives are a common component of many university science education courses but rarely are they used as a tool to evaluate the preservice teachers within these courses. This article describes the construction of a positive and negative science teaching case narrative. These case narratives can be used to evaluate the level of acceptance of scientific inquiry teaching in preservice elementary teachers.     

Partially correct constructs illuminate students’ inconsistent answers

We present a view of knowledge construction processes, focusing on partially correct constructs. Motivated by unexpected and seemingly inconsistent quantitative data based on the written reports of students working on an elementary probability task, we analyze in detail the knowledge construction processes of a representative student. We show how the nested epistemic actions model for abstraction in context facilitates following the emergence of a learner’s partially correct constructs (PaCCs). These PaCCs provide added insight into processes of knowledge construction. They are also used in order to analyze and explain students’ thinking in situations where some of the students’ answers were unexpected in light of their earlier answers or inconsistent with earlier answers. In particular, PaCCs are explanatory tools for correct answers based on (partially) faulty knowledge and for wrong answers based on largely correct knowledge.     

Media’s Influence on the Accessibility of Altruistic and Egoistic Motivations

Previous research suggests that media featuring exemplars of specific altruistic motivations can make those motivations more accessible in viewers’ minds. The present study extends this research to also examine egoistic motivations. We (a) developed a coding scheme to examine how frequently exemplars of altruistic and egoistic motivations appear in media content, (b) developed an intuitive motivation-affect misattribution procedure to measure the accessibility of altruistic and egoistic motivations, and (c) examined whether exposure to media content portraying specific motivations makes those motivations more accessible in audiences. The findings are discussed in terms of the model of intuitive morality and exemplars.     

International Communication

COMMUNICATIONS IN A CHANGING WORLD (Washington, D.C.: The Media Institute, 1983---two volumes, paper, price not given)

THE ABC OF COPYRIGHT (Paris: Unesco/New York: Unipub, 1981---paper, price not given)

MILITARY PROPAGANDA: PSYCHOLOGICAL WARFARE AND OPERATIONS by Ron D. McLaurin (New York: Praeger, 1982---price not given)

TELECOMMUNICATIONS IN THE YEAR 2000: NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVES edited by Indu B. Singh (Norwood, N.J.: Ablex, 1983---$24.95)

THE EDUCATIONAL USE OF MASS MEDIA by Gloria Feliciano, et al. (Washington, D.C.: World Bank, 1981---$5.00, paper)

POWERS OF THE PRESS: TWELVE OF THE WORLD'S INFLUENTIAL NEWSPAPERS by Martin Walker (New York: Pilgrim Press, 1983---price not given)

THE PHONOGRAM IN CULTURAL COMMUNICATION: REPORT ON A RESEARCH PROJECT UNDERTAKEN BY MEDICAULT, edited by K. Blaukopf (New York and Vienna: Springer-Verlag, 1982---$23.60, paper)     

Extending Big‐Five theory into childhood: A preliminary investigation into the relationship between Big‐Five personality traits and behavior problems in children

An investigation was conducted to link Big‐Five personality traits with behavior problems identified in childhood. Eighty‐six children ranging in age from 9 to 13 were rated by their respective classroom teacher using an experimental ratings instrument developed to measure Big‐Five personality constructs and behavior concurrently. Big‐Five Personality and Behavior Problem scales were correlated. Results show distinct patterns of behavior problems associated with various personality characteristics. Children with low scores in Agreeableness and Conscientiousness exhibit social problems, conduct problems, attention deficits, and hyperactivity. Children with low scores on the scale, Openness to Experience, exhibit problems in social behavior, conduct, and attention. The Neuroticism trait was associated with anxiety and depression. Potential implication for clinical practice and future research study was provided. These preliminary data indicate that identifying Big‐Five personality trait patterns may be a useful dimension of assessment for understanding underlying motives and predispositions associated with children's problem behavior. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Psychometric and edumetric validity of dimensions of geomorphological knowledge which are tapped by concept mapping

The validity of several dimensions of knowledge which were inferred from concept maps was assessed for its psychometric and edumetric aspects. Data were collected from 14 students who enrolled in the university first-year introductory geomorphology course and in its prerequisite introductory geology course. They took an objective geomorphology test, the tree construction task, and the Standardized Concept Structuring Analysis Technique (SConSAT) version of concept mapping. Comparisons among these dimensions of knowledge before and after the geomorphology course yielded convergent evidence. For the psychometric perspective, the SConSAT version of concept mapping and tree construction had similar knowledge structure representations, and the cognitive map correctness was moderately positively correlated with the objective test but not with the geomorphology course test. For the edumetric perspective, the majority of the dimensions of knowledge structures from the SConSAT showed large improvements following the geomorphology course. This evidence shows that the knowledge structure dimensions have moderate to good construct validity which warrant their widespread use for evaluating learning outcomes in both experimental and classroom settings. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 34: 925–947, 1997.     

机械加工自动线模拟程序设计

用一台ＩＰＣ机帝现一条模拟加工自动线的自动控制及模拟显示,采用了两个光电开关和十二个接近开关以及一个软按钮作为输入量,软件设计时采用了四个程序模块分别对输送带电机及工位１,工位２,工位３的电机进行控制。