Examining Pre-Service Teachers’ Use of Atomic Models in Explaining Subsequent Ionisation Energy Values

Chemistry students’ explanations of ionisation energy phenomena often involve a number of non-scientific or inappropriate ideas being used to form causality arguments. Research has attributed this to many science teachers using these ideas themselves (Tan and Taber, in J Chem Educ 86(5):623–629, 2009). This research extends this work by considering which atomic models are used in pre-service teachers’ explanations and how that relates to the causality ideas expressed. Thirty-one pre-service teachers were interviewed. Each was asked to describe and explain four different atomic representations (Rutherford, Electron cloud micrograph, Bohr and Schr?dinger types) in as much detail as they could. They also provided an explanation for the subsequent ionisation energy values for an oxygen atom and identified which representations were helpful in explaining the values. Significantly, when pre-service teachers only used Bohr type representations, they did not use repelling electron ideas in their explanations. However, arguments that were based on electron–electron repulsion used features from Schr?dinger type atoms. These findings suggest that many pre-service teachers need to develop their atomic modelling skills so that they select and use models more expertly and that subsequent ionisation explanations offer a context in which to explore different atomic models’ limitations and their deployment as explanatory resources.     

Managing Perceived Stress Among College Students: The Roles of Social Support and Dysfunctional Coping

The author examined the conditions (i.e., social support and dysfunctional coping) under which perceived stress predicted psychological well‐being in 459 college students. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated a significant 2‐way interaction (Perceived Stress × Social Support) and a significant 3‐way interaction (Perceived Stress × Social Support × Dysfunctional Coping) predicting well‐being. Low social support deteriorated the association between stress and well‐being. Only the frequent use of dysfunctional coping exacerbated the association between stress and well‐being across high and low social support. Implications for counseling college students are discussed.     

Developing the capacity of teacher‐librarians to meet the diverse needs of all schoolchildren: Project ENABLE

US school libraries are required to ensure that schoolchildren and school staff with disabilities have equal opportunity to use and benefit from library facilities and information services under federal law. However, evidence indicates teacher‐librarians (TLs) often lack the training, knowledge and skills to provide programmes and services that meet the needs of students with disabilities. Project ENABLE (Expanding Nondiscriminatory Access by Librarians Everywhere) was created to respond to this shortfall by designing, implementing and evaluating a professional development programme in New York State. The project applies a social model of disability to help 100 TLs, special educators and general educators further develop their skills and resources by teaming together to create an inclusive environment for all students. This is achieved through the use of universal design principles, appropriate assistive and other technologies, an emphasis on person‐first language and sensitivity simulations, a focus on inclusive lesson planning, and by developing collaboration capacity among participant teams. Curriculum development, data collection and analyses are presented. The effect of the Project ENABLE trainings was significant in terms of higher levels of skill and knowledge reported by participants for creating accessible library programmes, advancing inclusive education and building effective collaborations. Drawing from their workshop learning and resources, participant teams developed action plans to implement during the 2011–2012 school year. This project underscores the importance of TLs in the education of all students, including those with disabilities. Higher education and local professional development programmes must place greater emphasis on preparing TLs to perform this role effectively and confidently.     

Information,Instruction, and Learning: A Hypermedia Perspective

Hypermedia as defined by Osgood (1987) is a tool for linking nonlinear information presented in the form of graphics, animation, video, and sound. One important question for instructional designers regarding hypermedia is how it can be used as an instructional or learning tool that enhances rather than inhibits learning. Creating hypermedia applications is a quick and easy alternative to creating courseware with older authoring systems and languages which took many hours to learn. This ease of application creation, combined with a tremendous increase in information available to our society, has resulted in a proliferation of hypermedia databases in school, university, and industry settings that is gradually moving into homes. Many of these databases are simply information media. This paper identifies important issues related to classifying a hypermedia–based information system appropriately. Based on a discussion of these issues, a call for systematic research which clarifies the role that hypermedia–based information systems can and should play in an instructional or learning environment is set forth.     

Development of teaching in ni-Vanuatu children

Teaching is an important mechanism of social learning. In industrialized societies, 3-year-olds tend to teach through demonstrations and short commands, while 5-year-olds use more verbal communication and abstract explanations. However, it remains unclear whether this generalizes to other cultures. This study presents results from a peer teaching game with 55 Melanesian children (4.7–11.4 years, 24 female) conducted in Vanuatu in 2019. Up to age 8, most participants taught through a participatory approach, emphasizing learning-by-doing, demonstrations, and short commands (57.1% of children aged 4–6 and 57.9% of children aged 7–8). Contrary to Western findings, abstract verbal communication only became common in children aged 9–11 (63.6%), suggesting that the ontogeny of teaching is shaped by the socio-cultural environment.