Darwin's young admirers

In 1873, Darwin replied to the second letter from a young Dutch admirer, Nicolaas Doedes, in which he had eagerly asked about Darwin's religious views. Darwin stated that he could not believe that "this grand and wondrous universe" had only arisen by chance, but also showed his doubts about the existence of God. In 1881, Darwin repeated a similar agnostic view. After the death of Darwin in 1882, Doedes incurred the wrath of Francis Darwin by publishing the confession of his father in a Dutch freethinking journal, thus revealing the sensitivity of the information Darwin shared with Doedes.     

Behavior and achievement relationships with emotionally disturbed children: An applied study

Reciprocal relationships between on-task behavior and certain academic performance targets have been demonstrated in a number of short-term applied behavior analysis studies. These studies have not had emotionally disturbed or behavior disordered (ED/BD) children as subjects, and are generally not carried out over sufficient intervals to measure effects on standardized tests of achievement. Studies of ongoing programs over longer periods of time have shown inconsistent results when comparing levels of on-task behavior with standardized achievement gains. The present study questions the hypothesized relationship between on-task behaviors and standardized achievement with ED/BD children. Further, it seeks to determine significant relationships between certain specific on-task behaviors (e.g., completing assignments) and standardized achievement. Forty ED/BD children participated in a token economy over the course of an entire academic year. Minimal pre-post achievement gains (p < .01) and a high level of on-task behavior (84%) were noted, but there were no significant relationships between on-task behaviors and measured achievement. The results are discussed in the context of similar findings from other ongoing programs with ED/BD students. Suggestions are offered for investigating other classes of behavior (e.g., academic engaged time) with these children, in order to discover more consistent behavior-achievement relationships.     

International scientist mobility and the locus of knowledge and technology transfer

Despite the growing interest of scholars and policymakers to better understand the determinants for researchers in public science to transfer knowledge and technology to firms, little is known how temporary international mobility of scientists affects both their propensity to engage in knowledge and technology transfer (KTT) as well as the locus of such transfer. Based on a sample of more than 950 German academics from science and engineering faculties, we investigate how the duration and the frequency of scientists’ visits at research institutions outside their home country affect KTT activities. We find that most mobile scientists engage in KTT to firms both in the host and in their home country, suggesting that KTT activities to firms abroad do not substitute or crowd out, but complement KTT to firms in the home country. We further find that the longer research visits abroad are, the higher the likelihood that scientists engage in KTT to firms, again both in the host and the home country. However, the more frequently scientists visit institutions abroad, the more likely they are to engage in KTT to firms only in their home country. Our results therefore provide evidence for the benefits of “brain circulation”. The article contributes to the growing strand of the literature on scientist mobility and on the determinants of industry-science linkages at the individual level.     

Cognitive play and mathematical learning in computer microworlds

Based on the constructivist principle of active learning, we focus on children's transformation of their cognitive play activity into what we regard as independent mathematical activity. We analyze how, in the process of this transformation, children modify their cognitive play activities. For such a modification to occur, we argue that the cognitive play activity has to involve operations of intelligence which yield situations of mathematical schemes.We present two distinctly different cases. If the first case, the medium of the cognitive play activity was a discrete computer microworld. we illustrate how two children transformed the playful activity of making pluralities into situations of their counting schemes. In the second case, the medium was a continuous microworld. We illustrate two children's transformation of the playful activity of making line segments (sticks) into situations of their counting schemes. We explain one child's transformation as a generalizing assimilation because it was immediate and powerful. The transformation made by the other child was more protracted, and social interaction played a prominent role. We specify several types of accommodations induced by this social interaction, accommodations we see as critical for understanding active mathematics learning. Finally, we illustrate how a playful orientation of independent mathematical activity can be inherited from cognitive play.     

Confronting prospective teachers' ideas of evolution and scientific inquiry using technology and inquiry‐based tasks

This study addresses the need for research in three areas: (1) teachers' understandings of scientific inquiry; (2) conceptual understandings of evolutionary processes; and (3) technology‐enhanced instruction using an inquiry approach. The purpose of this study was to determine in what ways The Galapagos Finches software–based materials created a context for learning and teaching about the nature of scientific knowledge and evolutionary concepts. The research used a design experiment in which researchers significantly modified a secondary science methods course. The multiple data sources included: audiotaped conversations of two focus pairs of participants as they interacted with the software; written pre‐ and posttests on concepts of natural selection of the 21 prospective teachers; written pre‐ and posttests on views of the nature of science; three e‐mail journal questions; and videotaped class discussions. Findings indicate that prospective teachers initially demonstrated alternative understandings of evolutionary concepts; there were uninformed understandings of the nature of scientific inquiry; there was little correlation between understandings and disciplines; and even the prospective teachers with research experience failed to understand the diverse methods used by scientists. Following the module there was evidence of enhanced understandings through metacognition, and the potential for interactive software to provide promising context for enhancing content understandings. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Elementary student teachers' science content representations

This purpose of this study was to examine the ways in which three prospective teachers who had early opportunities to teach science would approach representing science content within the context of their student teaching experiences. The study is framed in the literature on pedagogical content knowledge and learning to teach. A situated perspective on cognition is applied to better understand the influence of context and the role of the cooperating teacher. The three participants were enrolled in an experimental teacher preparation program designed to enhance the teaching of science at the elementary level. Qualitative case study design guided the collection, organization, and analysis of data. Multiple forms of data associated with student teachers' content representations were collected, including audiotaped planning and reflection interviews, written lesson plans and reflections, and videotaped teaching experiences. Broad analysis categories were developed and refined around the subconstructs of content representation (i.e., knowledge of instructional strategies that promote learning and knowledge of students and their requirements for meaningful science learning). Findings suggest that when prospective teachers are provided with opportunities to apply and reflect substantively on their developing considerations for supporting children's science learning, they are able to maintain a subject matter emphasis. However, in the absence of such opportunities, student teachers abandon their subject matter emphasis, even when they have had extensive background and experiences addressing subject‐specific considerations for teaching and learning. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 39: 443–463, 2002