Spatial list learning in black-capped chickadees

Learning & Behavior - Black-capped chickadees (Parus atricapillus), a food-storing bird, were presented with three-item lists of unique spatial configurations. Each item consisted of one baited...     

Gender violence in schools in the developing world

This paper explores gender violence in schools in what is commonly known as the ‘developing world’ through a review of recent research written in English. Violence in the school setting has only recently emerged as a widespread and serious phenomenon in these countries, with the consequence that our knowledge and understanding of it is embryonic; much of it remains invisible or unrecognized. Informed by research from elsewhere, we use theories of gender/sexual relations to provide a more coherent understanding of the issues, to point to absences and open up spaces for further research with the potential to contribute to strategies through which it might be addressed. We start by clarifying the purposes and the broad position adopted in writing this paper. Then, we trace the conceptual connections between gender/sexual relations and gender violence in schools, acknowledging the importance of locating understanding of the phenomena within the context of the school’s culture, its structures and processes. We organize the review using two overlapping categories: implicit gender violence, which relates to the everyday institutional structures and practices, and explicit gender violence, which relates to more overtly sexualized encounters. Both categories cover gender violence perpetrated by students on other students, by teachers on students, and by students on teachers. In the final section, the theoretical connections (and distinctions) generated by the research allow for a critical overview of the strategies that have been used to address the problem to date.     

Statewide Change in Teacher Preparation: An Inside Job

This article describes the applicability of the statewide professional development model for higher education implemented by the Illinois IHE Partnership designed to support teacher educators in integrating the key principles of a multitiered system of supports (MTSS) in teacher-education program coursework and field experiences. The process included identifying technical assistance coordinators at each partner institution, facilitating faculty workgroups, providing ongoing coaching about the key principles of MTSS, and providing access to resources and sample materials that supported teacher educators’ integration of MTSS in teacher preparation. The critical elements of MTSS identified by the project staff included universal core instruction, evidence-based practices, problem-solving process, formal and informal assessment, data-based decision making, positive behavior interventions and supports, parent involvement and collaboration, and integrity of implementation. Implications and recommendations for other institutions of higher education that use a similar professional development process in teacher-preparation programs are discussed.     

Background stimuli as a reminder after spontaneous forgetting: Role of duration of cuing and cuing-test interval

With a relatively complex maze, reliable forgetting is seen clearly when the training-to-test interval is 25 days. This forgetting is demonstrated by longer time to run the maze and by an increase in the number of errors and retracings from the last training trials to the first test trial. In this case, forgetting is a lapse, not a loss, since performance attains the last training trial level at a subsequent test. Furthermore, a reminder—a 90-sec exposure to background stimuli in the experimental room just prior to the test trial—that does not in itself contain sufficient information to facilitate performance in naive animals, significantly improves maze performance in rats that have “forgotten,” even on the first test trial. Two additional experiments were aimed at assessing the role of time and duration of pretest cuing. In the first experiment, the animals were presented the reminder (90 sec in duration) at different times before the test trial. The results show that this reminder significantly alleviates forgetting only when presented just prior to the test, and is less effective when given 1 or 24 h before the test. In the second experiment, contextual cues, which were presented just prior to testing in all experimental groups, varied in duration. The results showed that (1) animals given the reminder treatment for only 10 sec perform at the same level as controls; (2) cuing for 30 sec and especially for 90 sec alleviates forgetting; and (3) a longer exposure to background stimuli (300 sec) leads to intermediate levels of performance, probably due to a partial extinction of the cue value of these stimuli.     

The effect of prior education on students’ competency in digital logic: the case of ultraorthodox Jewish students

In line with the growing interest in extending the diversity of CS students, we examined the performance of a unique group of students studying an introductory course in Digital logic: ultraorthodox Jewish men, whose previous education was based mostly on studying Talmud and who lacked a conventional high-school education. We used questions from the Digital Logic Concept Inventory . We compared the results to those of religious Jewish men with a conventional high-school education, and to the results reported in the literature. The ultraorthodox group performed better than the other groups in tasks that concerned number representation. No other statistically significant differences were found. Talk-aloud protocols revealed that the ultraorthodox students utilized a viable conceptual understanding in their performance. We can conclude that students’ unique, alternative prior education should not be merely viewed as an obstacle to their academic studies, but also as a potential source for strengths.     

American Students’ Perspectives on Alternative Assessment: do they know it's different?

This study used the 1993 California Learning Assessment System (CLAS) Middle Grades Mathematics Performance Assessment as a platform to examine alternative assessment in actual practice in the United States. Reported here is information gathered using the CLAS regarding student attitudes and approaches toward this new type of assessment. At issue is whether students find alternative assessments to be more motivating and interesting than traditional types of tests, and whether they appreciate the difference between traditional and alternative tasks. Data were collected in 13 schools across the state of California, involving more than 800 students. Instrumentation used in data collection included student surveys as well as in‐depth student retrospective interviews. Findings suggest that students do indeed understand the differences in approaches necessitated by novel, open‐ended versus more familiar multiple‐choice tasks. In addition, student attitudes toward these two types of tasks are discussed in detail.     

Safety Education for Children Cannot Stop for a Pandemic: Transitioning an Injury Prevention Program to a Virtual Format

Early Childhood Education Journal - In-person safety programs for pre-kindergarten children were not able to go on in their usual way during the summer of 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. While...     

Fear of Death and Examination Performance in a Medical Gross Anatomy Course with Cadaveric Dissection

Cadaveric dissection offers an important opportunity for students to develop their ideas about death and dying. However, it remains largely unknown how this experience impacts medical students' fear of death. The current study aimed to address this gap by describing how fear of death changed during a medical gross anatomy dissection course and how fear of death was associated with examination performance. Fear of death was surveyed at the beginning of the course and at each of the four block examinations using three of the eight subscales from the Multidimensional Fear of Death Scale: Fear of the Dead, Fear of Being Destroyed, and Fear for the Body After Death. One hundred forty-three of 165 medical students (86.7%) completed the initial survey. Repeated measures ANOVA showed no significant changes in Fear of the Dead (F (4, 108) = 1.45, P = 0.222) or Fear for the Body After Death (F (4, 108) = 1.83, P = 0.129). There was a significant increase in students' Fear of Being Destroyed (F (4, 108) = 6.86, P < 0.0005) after beginning dissection. This increase was primarily related to students' decreased willingness to donate their body. Concerning performance, there was one significant correlation between Fear for the Body After Death and the laboratory examination score at examination 1. Students with higher fears may be able to structure their experience in a way that does not negatively impact their performance, but educators should still seek ways to support these students and encourage body donation.     

The Communicative Work of Biology-Journal Captions: Lessons for Technical and Professional Communication

The authors examined a corpus of figure captions from technical and professional communication (TPC)-journal articles to test their sense that TPC captions do not fulfill their communicative potential as well as, they sensed, journals in science often do. The authors performed a content analysis on captions from biology-journal articles and iteratively tested a coding scheme of caption content. The resulting scheme can help in analyzing caption content, developing captions, and imparting a variety of TPC-related skills to students.     

Writing expository essays from social studies texts: a self-regulated strategy development study

Reading and Writing - This study examined the effectiveness of Self-Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD) to improve students’ ability to write expository essays after reading social studies...