Meta-Analysis of the Persuasive Effects of Metaphorical vs. Literal Messages

This study uses meta-analysis to compare the persuasive effects of metaphorical and literal messages and assess various theoretical explanations for the relatively greater persuasiveness of metaphor. The meta-analysis includes studies from 2001 to 2015 that use various message formats and topics. Results indicate an overall effect size of r = 0.09, p < .001, 95% CI [0.06, 0.12], which supports the conclusion that metaphorical messages are more persuasive than literal messages. Moderator analyses indicate differences in effect sizes based on metaphor target familiarity, message topic, and message format. A meta-regression using the theoretical moderators indicates that message format was the strongest predictor of variation in effect size. This study provides implications related to the theoretical mechanism behind the greater persuasive effects of metaphor.     

The Effects of Metaphor Use and Message Format on Cognitive Processing and Persuasive Outcomes of Condom Promotion Messages

The potential of pictorial and verbal metaphors to gain attention and enhance persuasion is considerable. Few scholars, however, have investigated the persuasive effects of metaphor in health messages. We applied a 2 × 2 factorial experiment to examine the effects of metaphor use (metaphor/literal) and message format (verbal/pictorial) on cognitive processing and persuasive outcomes of condom promotion messages. Results showed no significant differences in cognitive processing according to metaphor or format, but there were differences in attitudes and behavioral intentions according to metaphor and format, with literal and verbal messages performing best. Potential explanations for findings and implications for future research and health message design are discussed.     

An ELITE service model: Creating and implementing a peer-to-peer library tech support team

Academic libraries are providing technical support and assistance to their patrons using models such as the information commons, learning commons, and designated service points. Applying a constructivist, experiential approach, one small liberal arts college created a team of students to provide peer-to-peer tech support in response to an influx of new technology resources and equipment available for checkout. This team has provided much-needed services to the campus and an important professional development opportunity for its members. This experience offers a useful example for implementing in-house technical support in libraries at similar institutions.     

Children's Teaching Skills: The Role of Theory of Mind and Executive Function

ABSTRACT— Teaching others effectively may rely on knowledge about the mind as well as self-control processes. The goal of this investigation was to explore the role of theory of mind (ToM) and executive function (EF) in children's developing teaching skills. Children 3.5–5.5 years of age ( N = 82) were asked to teach a confederate learner how to play a board game and were administered multitask batteries of ToM and EF with mental age, sex, and memory capacity as controls. There was a developmental increase in children's teaching skills (e.g., older children taught longer, explained more rules, and used more strategies when teaching). Examined separately, both ToM and EF explained unique variance in teaching skills over and above controls. Taken together, EF was a significant predictor of teaching efficacy over and above ToM and controls, whereas the same did not hold true for ToM. These results suggest that ToM may be a necessary prerequisite for teaching to occur; however, EF skills appear to play a vital role in children's teaching efficacy.     

God's antipodean teaching force: An historical exposition on Catholic teaching religious in Australia

From the 1850s to the 1970s the teaching force in Catholic schools in Australia was dominated by priests, female religious and brothers. This paper details the scope of existing research on these teachers, the demands of their religious vocation, their own education, the atmosphere which they established in the schools, leadership opportunities, and the ‘darker side’ of their way of life. Such expositions can promote reflection on the possibility that teaching can be influenced by discourses of ‘vocation’ and ‘the giving of service’, every bit as much as it can be by ‘industrial’ and ‘labour’ perspectives.     

Overlooked aspects in the education of science professionals: Mentoring,ethics, and professional responsibility

Science as profession is generally defined narrowly as research. Science education as preparation for a profession in research is usually perceived as course work and laboratory training, even though the necessary knowledge and skills to pursue a research career are more extensive and diverse and are learned in one-on-one interaction with mentors. A complete education of science professionals includes the values, ethical standards and conventions of the discipline since they are fundamental to the profession. Mentoring and education in the responsible conduct and reporting of research and in the ethical dimensions of science are among the professional responsibilities of scientists and need to be discussed as part of science education. Moreover, science as an enterprise is much more than research and includes a number of other components, including science teaching, science journalism, and science policy. Each of these contributes to the nature of science and its role in society.     

Long-Term Effects of First-Grade Multitier Intervention

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to compare the long-term effects of 2 first-grade Response to Intervention (RTI) models (Dynamic and Typical RTI) on the reading performance of students in second and third grade. Participants included 419 first-grade students (352 in second grade and 278 in third grade after attrition). Students were classified based on first-grade screeners as at risk or not at risk and then based on their RTI (no risk [NR], relative easy to remediate [ER], and requiring sustained remediation [SR]). Students in the dynamic RTI condition had higher reading comprehension scores at the end of third grade. At the end of second grade, ER and SR students had lower reading scores than NR students. At the end of third grade, there were no differences in reading skills between ER and NR students, but SR students had lower scores than NR students. ER students in the dynamic RTI condition had higher reading scores at the end of second grade than those in the typical RTI condition. Limitations and directions for future research are discussed.     

Constructing bullying in Ontario,Canada: a critical policy analysis

As the prevalence and negative effects of bullying become widely known, people around the world seem desperate to solve the bullying “problem”. A sizeable body of research about many aspects of bullying and a plethora of anti-bullying programmes and policies now exist. This critical policy analysis asks: how does Ontario, Canada’s bullying policy support and/or undermine critical democracy; and how does it reflect, support and further the interests of neoliberalism and/or neoconservatism? Findings indicate that the policy constructs the problem of bullying as a problem of individuals and a “behaviour for learning” problem. The policy also prescribes standardised responses to bullying incidents. We explore ways in which these constructions are undemocratic and unjust. The findings are particularly concerning because bullying policies are often viewed as innocuous by practitioners. This paper offers more than just critique by providing suggestions for how research and policies can become more just and equitable and how bullying policy may be enacted to support critical democracy.