Student learning outcomes and attitudes when biotechnology lab partners are of different academic levels

The North Carolina State University Biotechnology Program offers laboratory-intensive courses to both undergraduate and graduate students. In "Manipulation and Expression of Recombinant DNA," students are separated into undergraduate and graduate sections for the laboratory, but not the lecture, component. Evidence has shown that students prefer pairing with someone of the same academic level. However, retention of main ideas in peer learning environments has been shown to be greater when partners have dissimilar abilities. Therefore, we tested the hypothesis that there will be enhanced student learning when lab partners are of different academic levels. We found that learning outcomes were met by both levels of student, regardless of pairing. Average undergraduate grades on every assessment method increased when undergraduates were paired with graduate students. Many of the average graduate student grades also increased modestly when graduate students were paired with undergraduates. Attitudes toward working with partners dramatically shifted toward favoring working with students of different academic levels. This work suggests that offering dual-level courses in which different-level partnerships are created does not inhibit learning by students of different academic levels. This format is useful for institutions that wish to offer "boutique" courses in which student enrollment may be low, but specialized equipment and faculty expertise are needed.     

Pathways from maternal depressive symptoms to children’s academic performance in adolescence: A 13-year prospective-longitudinal study

The pathways through which exposure to maternal depressive symptoms in early childhood are linked to academic performance during adolescence are poorly understood. This study tested pathways from maternal depressive symptoms (age 2–5) to adolescent academic performance (age 15) through cumulative parenting risk (age 7) and subsequent child functioning (age 10), using multi-informant data from a prospective longitudinal community study spanning 13 years (N = 389, 47% male, 68% White). Structural equation models testing indirect effects revealed small associations between maternal depressive symptoms and increased cumulative parenting risk and poorer child functioning, and, via these pathways, with poorer academic performance. Thus, childhood exposure to maternal depressive symptoms may be associated with pathways of risk that could limit children's educational opportunities.     

Examination for Bias in Principal Ratings of Teachers' Preparation

The Department of Education is moving to change accountability for teacher preparation institutions to include surveys of the graduates and their supervising principal following paid employment. This study describes one of a number of quantitative studies that examine the validity and usefulness of such follow-up surveys. Using multiple years of data, the authors examined the effect of teacher socioeconomic status and ethnicity on principals' evaluation of the teachers' preparation. The results indicated that there was no difference in ratings based on graduates' parent education, family income, or ethnicity. Post hoc evaluation showed that Latino teachers were rated better prepared to work with diversity in the classroom and to teach English learners. Bias does not appear to be part of principal evaluation. However, because principals are prone to rating teachers on a binary, satisfactory/unsatisfactory basis, follow-up surveys may not be the most useful tool for assessing some nuances of teacher preparation.     

Reducing Bullying: Application of Social Cognitive Theory

Social cognitive theory (SCT) is an important heuristic for understanding the complexity of bullying behaviors and the social nature of involvement in bullying. Bullying has been heralded as a social relationship problem, and the interplay between the individual and his or her social environment supports this conceptualization. SCT has been used to help guide the development of an individualized intervention for bully perpetrators, which will be described in this article. Intervening directly with those who bully others helps understand individual variation in bullying, as well as teaches bully perpetrators alternative, prosocial ways of interacting with others. Students who bully others exhibit a complex array of psychological, cognitive, and social characteristics. In this article, we argue that to truly reduce bullying, interventions must address these psychological, cognitive, and social contributing factors. Only when interventions target these constructs will individuals be able to transform their bullying behaviors into prosocial interactions.     

The Public's Bounded Understanding of Science

This introduction to the special issue Understanding the Public Understanding of Science: Psychological Approaches discusses some of the challenges people face in understanding science. We focus on people's inevitably bounded understanding of science topics; research must address how people make decisions in science domains such as health and medicine without having the deep and extensive understanding that is characteristic of domain experts. The articles reflect two broad streams of research on the public understanding of science—the learning orientation that seeks to improve understanding through better instruction and the communications orientation that focuses on attitudes about science and trust in scientists. Challenges to understanding science include determining the relevance of information, the tentativeness of scientific truth, distinguishing between scientific and nonscientific issues, and determining what is true and what is false. Studying the public understanding of science can potentially contribute to psychological theories of thinking and reasoning in modern societies.     

Acculturative Experiences of Black-African International Students

There has been a significant increase in the number of international students pursuing higher education in the U.S. since 2001. Upon arrival, students are often beset with feelings of isolation and alienation, which are characteristic of adjusting to a new culture. African International students, specifically Black-African international students, are no different in this regard and often experience significant adjustment concerns. Most notable of the concerns for Black-African students are the issues of prejudice and discrimination, which can lead to the experience of acculturative stress. It is, therefore, imperative that institutions find ways to help Black-African international students adjust better to life in the U.S. This paper discusses some adjustment concerns of Black-African international students and provides some suggestions for addressing their concerns.     

Linking research and practice through teacher communities: a place where formal and practical knowledge meet?

This study characterises the links between research and practice across 12 projects concerned with the collaborative design of lesson plans by teacher communities (TCs). Analyses focused on sources of knowledge used to inform lesson design, participants’ roles and knowledge generated by the teacher community. Three patterns emerged pertaining to the sources of knowledge informing lesson plans: design guided by formal and practical knowledge, by classroom-data and practical knowledge or by a combination of all three. Findings further suggest that the emphasis given to the use of formal knowledge over classroom-data or vice versa restrains the full accomplishment of research and practice links. Across the projects studied, university researchers contributed to linking research and practice by directly or indirectly supporting community activities. Surprisingly, the role of teachers in the generation and dissemination of formal knowledge was limited. Further research should explore the effects of collaboration within TCs on researchers and policy-makers.     

Culture-General and Culture-Specific Approaches to Counselling: Complementary Stances

For the past 40 years, the helping professions have attempted to address the uniqueness of therapeutic relationships that involve clients and counsellors of different cultures. Counselling psychology has been at the forefront in the cultural movement within the helping profession. Approaches utilized by multicultural counsellors can be classified into two basic stances: culture-general and culture-specific. This paper argues that an either/or perspective does not stand to benefit the profession; however, a framework that encompasses the best of both approaches provides the building blocks for a hermeneutic approach to multicultural counselling. The two stances are explained and each is critiqued. The false dichotomy that has evolved within the profession between these two stances is discussed and an argument for focusing research on multiethnic counselling relationships is given. Finally, an integrative approach that privileges hermeneutics is presented.     

What's sexy? Adolescent girls discuss confidence,danger, and media influence

Building on qualitative research about sexualisation by media and culture and the impact on girls' development, in this article we present a discourse analysis of three focus groups of teen girls of colour and of diverse ethnicities asked to talk about sexiness. We focus on the ways the girls both support and resist hegemonic discourses about femininity and sexuality as well as on the discursive strategies used by the girls to separate sexiness from lack of respectability and present themselves as both knowing consumers of media and passive responders. The girls constructed sexiness in three ways that we refer to as interpretive repertoires and analyse each for paradoxes, contradictions, and resistance to mainstream conceptualisations of sexiness. These are sexy as confident; disadvantages and advantages to sexy; and sexy as sold to you.