Gender,ethnicity, science achievement,and attitudes

Science achievement and attitudes were assessed for a series of students in Grades 3–12 representing the four major ethnic groups in Hawai'i (USA). It was found that more differences were accounted for by ethnicity and even grade than by gender; in addition, there was little interaction between ethnicity and gender. With respect to ethnicity, Caucasian and Japanese-American students outscored Hawaiians and Filipino Americans at all grade levels. Caucasians also expressed the most positive attitudes toward science and Japanese expressed the most positive perceptions of scientists; Hawaiians generally expressed the least positive perceptions. Younger students generally expressed more positive attitudes toward science but less positive perceptions of scientists compared to older students. Caucasians expressed the most positive perceptions of their own science ability and achievement. With respect to gender, there were no consistent differences in science achievement and very few in science attitudes and perceptions. The major differences were that males reported more experiences with physical science activities and also expressed a more male-stereotyped view of science than females, with some variation by ethnicity and grade. There were differences in enrollment in advanced science and mathematics classes in that females were more likely than males to enroll in many, but for both genders the major reason was college admission: Japanese students were most likely and Hawaiians least likely to indicate science interest as a reason. Findings are discussed within the context of cultural ecology and feminist social theory. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Ways of Knowing beyond Facts and Laws of Science: An Ethnographic Investigation of Student Engagement in Scientific Practices

In this study, an anthropological perspective informed by sociolinguistic discourse analysis was used to examine how teachers, students, and scientists constructed ways of investigating and knowing in science. Events in a combined fourth‐ and fifth‐grade elementary class were studied to document how the participating teacher provided opportunities for students to diverge from the intended curriculum to pursue their questions concerning the behavior of sea animals in a marine science observation tank. Analysis of the classroom discourse identified ways that particular teaching strategies provided opportunities for student engagement in scientific practices. Implications of this study for the teaching of science in elementary classrooms include the value of student‐initiated science explorations under the conditions of uncertainty and for topics in which the teacher lacked relevant disciplinary knowledge. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 37: 237–258, 2000.     

Technology transfer in schools: from research to innovation

Technology transfer should be a central objective of research into educational information technology, as it is generally acknowledged that the quality of this process is a critical factor in effectively bringing about innovation. The central focus of this paper is on this problem. In particular, we discuss the peculiarity of information technology transfer in schools as opposed to the transfer of technology in companies; we indicate some central problems of this transfer and discuss a typology of approaches to the transfer of educational information technology from research to school.     

The interpersonal dimension of teacher education: Comparing distance education with two other programs in Sri Lanka

This chapter examines a distance education program to train primary schoolteachers in Sri Lanka and looks for evidence of its success. Quasi-longitudinal data on (a) teacher perceptions of the program; (b) teacher knowledge, skill, and attitudes; (c) teacher classroom performance; and (d) pupil achievement are used to compare distance education with two other teacher education programs in Sri Lanka — an institutional inservice program and a preservice approach. More specifically, the interpersonal aspects of this distance education program are examined as a possible explanation of the program's effectiveness when compared with other distance education as well as conventional approaches to educating teachers.     

The visual Aural digit span test and Bender gestalt test as predictors of wide range achievement test-revised scores

Visual Aural Digit Span Test (VADS) scores and Bender Gestalt Test (BG) scores as predictors of Wide Range Achievement Test-Revised (WRAT-R) scores were examined in this study. The sample consisted of 115 children referred for low academic achievement. They were divided into three age groups: (Low) 6–0 to 7–11; (Middle) 8–0 to 9–11; and (High) 10–0 to 11–11. The scores on the 11 VADS measures and BG errors were used to predict the WRAT-R achievement. The VADS Test scores were found to predict Reading and Arithmetic in the Low Group. The BG Test did not correlate with achievement in the Low Group. In the Middle Group, the VADS Test correlated with Reading and Spelling, but not with Arithmetic. The BG correlated with all three achievement measures. In the High Group, neither the VADS Test nor BG correlated with any of the achievement measures. The results suggest that the BG and VADS Test can be used as an effective screening device for young children with potential learning problems.     

Teacher Efficacy as a Conduit for Enhancing Attitudes Toward Teaching Reading to African-American Students

Through this study the authors aimed to determine the impact of a reading course and tutoring for elementary school youth enrolled in an after-school program in a low-income community. They conclude that multicultural field-based tutoring experiences connected to a content area course can increase teachers’ pedagogical knowledge and teacher efficacy when teaching low-income, African-American students.     

Oculomotor dynamics in skilled soccer players: The effects of sport expertise and strenuous physical effort

The ability to quickly locate objects within the visual field has a significant influence on athletic performance. Saccades are conjugate eye movements responsible for the rapid shift that brings a new part of the visual field into foveal vision. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of sport expertise and intense physical effort on saccade dynamics during a free-viewing visual search task in skilled soccer players. Two groups of male subjects participated in this study: 18 soccer players and 18 non-athletes as the control group. Two sessions of visual search tasks without a sport-specific design were employed. Eye movements during the visual search tasks were recorded binocularly. Between pre- and post-test sessions, athletes performed a maximal incremental treadmill test. Cardiorespiratory parameters were measured continuously. Capillary lactate samples were collected. Pre-test findings indicated that athletes, in comparison to non-athletes, achieve higher values of the following characteristics of saccades (1) average acceleration, (2) acceleration peak, (3) deceleration peak, and (4) average velocity. An increase in post-test saccade duration and a decrease in post-test saccade velocity was observed in athletes due to the strenuous physical effort in relation to the pre-test state. Athletes may transfer high saccadic function efficiency to non-specific visual stimuli. The findings partially confirm that physical exertion can reduce oculomotor efficiency in athletes.     

Non-empirical problems in fair machine learning

Ethics and Information Technology - The problem of fair machine learning has drawn much attention over the last few years and the bulk of offered solutions are, in principle, empirical. However,...     

Vocabulary use during storybook reading: Implications for children with augmentative and alternative communication needs

Storybook‐reading interactions are a critical component of emergent literacy, contributing to later development of conventional literacy skills. Children with augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) needs must be provided with appropriate vocabulary to actively participate in storybook interactions in a manner similar to that of their typically developing peers. This study examined vocabulary used by typically developing kindergartners while being read a storybook. Words used by the kindergartners were compared to vocabulary on premade, commercially available storybook communication displays marketed for individuals with AAC needs. Results revealed that vocabulary on commercially available communication displays did not include the words used most frequently by the kindergartners. Results suggest that practitioners who use commercially available communication displays may need to modify the materials to provide children with AAC needs sufficient vocabulary to enhance their participation during storybook‐reading interactions. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Enhancing Force Concept Inventory diagnostics to identify dominant misconceptions in first-year engineering physics

This work presents the results of a study whose aim is to detect systematic errors about the concept of force among freshmen students. The researchers analysed the results of the Force Concept Inventory test, which was administered to two different groups of students. The results show that, although there were significant performance variations between the two groups, they, nonetheless, shared common incorrect answers that were consistently triggered by the same misconceptions. The analysis proposed in this paper could also be applied in other universities to reveal the students’ a priori mindset in Newtonian mechanics and serve as a guideline for developing effective computer simulations or other tools.