The concept map as a research tool: Exploring conceptual change in biology

This study examined the concurrent validity of concept maps as vehicles for documenting and exploring conceptual change in biology. Students (N = 91) who enrolled in an elementary science methods course were randomly assigned to one of two treatment groups. Subjects in both groups were administered a multiple-choice/free-response inventory which assayed their knowledge of “Life Zones in the Ocean,” and then were asked to construct a concept map on the same topic. Those in the experimental group subsequently received 45 minutes of computer-assisted instruction on marine life zones, while those in the control (“placebo”) group received an equivalent exposure to an unrelated topic (“Body Defenses”). Upon completing the instructional sequence, subjects were again administered the “Life Zones” inventory and asked to develop a postinstruction concept map on marine life zones. The data analysis employed a split plot factorial design with repeated measures. Differences among treatment groups were documented by analysis of variance and chi-square procedures. Subjects in the experimental group showed evidence of significant and substantial changes in the complexity and prepositional structure of the knowledge base, as revealed in concept maps. No such changes were found in the control group. Results suggest that concept mapping offers a valid and potentially useful technique for documenting and exploring conceptual change in biology.     

Perturbing possibilities in the postqualitative turn: lessons from Taoism (道) and Ubuntu

Recognizing cognitive imperialism in the emerging postqualitative regime, we propose a hesitation, a perturbation to think the other-than-ness of the west. Asserting the postqualitative regime as west reinforces hegemonic epistemological violence; we look to the East and Africa – progenitors of the west-termed postqualitative regime and seek to privilege the onto–epistemologies from which these concepts were culturally (mis)appropriated. More specifically, we explore the southern African philosophy of Ubuntu and Taoism from the East to transgress west. These oft-western denigrated indigenous philosophical concepts embody the postqualitative conceptual (mis)appropriations of entanglement, the inseparability of ontology and epistemology (onto–epistemology), and an ontological positionality of immanence – interpenetration – impermanence. Re-conceptualizing the postqualitative regime, we offer a turn to non-western indigenous ontologies illuminating African and Eastern philosophies pregnant with multiple possibilities for living–thinking–being ourselves, postqualitative research, and the world anew.     

Challenging normative assumptions regarding disengaged youth: a phenomenological perspective

This paper explores the experiences of 12 young people, all teenagers, who have chosen to attend alternative schools known as flexible learning options within the Australian context. Using a phenomenological approach, the study seeks to understand their experiences outside the normalised public discourse that they had ‘disengaged’ from mainstream school. A phenomenological approach is employed because of its potential to draw attention to predetermined assumptions about, in this study’s case, student disengagement, a concept commonly framed within a pathologised and deficit perspective. The study gives evidence for the utility of a phenomenological approach in providing insight into how macrosystem policy, such as a nationalistic neoliberal agenda, influences ‘schooling’ and subsequently students’ experiences with schools. The implications of this study with attention to the nexus between methodology and policy are discussed, especially in drawing attention to how phenomenology as a qualitative methodology provides a means of agency for the disenfranchised to challenge existing policy and public assumptions.     

Paper–based versus computer–based assessment: key factors associated with the test mode effect

This investigation seeks to confirm several key factors in computer–based versus paper–based assessment. Based on earlier research, the factors considered here include content familiarity, computer familiarity, competitiveness, and gender. Following classroom instruction, freshman business undergraduates (N = 105) were randomly assigned to either a computer–based or identical paper–based test. ANOVA of test data showed that the computer–based test group outperformed the paper–based test group. Gender, competitiveness, and computer familiarity were NOT related to this performance difference, though content familiarity was. Higher–attaining students benefited most from computer–based assessment relative to higher–attaining students under paper–based testing. With the current increase in computer–based assessment, instructors and institutions must be aware of and plan for possible test mode effects.     

Infant Information Processing in Relation to Six-Year Cognitive Outcomes

As part of a longitudinal follow-up of full-terms and preterms, infant measures of information processing obtained at 7 months and 1 year were related to various 6-year outcomes: general intelligence, language proficiency, early reading and quantitative skills, and several facets of perceptual organization (N = 91). 7-month Visual recognition memory (VRM) was associated with 6-year performance in all domains, and 3 1-year measures--VRM, cross-modal transfer (CMT), and object permanence--were related to IQ and/or one or more specific outcomes (r's = .20 to .47). Many of the infant-childhood relations remain significant even with IQ partialed. Additionally, 7-month VRM and 1-year CMT scores were lower for infants who, at 6 years, were considered at risk for learning disabilities. Overall, measures from the first year of life predicted both specific cognitive abilities and IQ at 6 years; to some extent, the specific abilities were predicted independently of IQ.     

The State of the Literature on Student Evaluations of Teaching and an Exploratory Analysis of Written Comments: Who Benefits Most?

The purpose of this exploratory analysis is to review the state of the literature on student evaluations (SEs) of teaching and examine to what extent an instructor's race/ethnicity influences student's qualitative comments. Also, does the intersection of race and gender influence student's qualitative comments on SEs? Utilizing an online survey distributed among various organizational listserv in the discipline of Political Science, this study highlights written comments received on SEs by faculty generally. Additionally, we hope to contribute findings that support how negative comments may affect faculty of color and women.     

Preexposure to situational cues produces a direct relationship between two-way avoidance learning and shock intensity

In Experiment 1, four groups of subjects (n = 16 each) were exposed to the situational stimuli of a shuttlebox apparatus for 4 h. Subsequently, 200 two-way avoidance trials were administered (100/day) with either .3- or 1.6-mA shock and with either small or large reward (presence or absence of visual stimuli following the response). Avoidance performance was directly related to shock intensity on both days and to magnitude of reward on the 2nd day. In Experiment 2, four groups of subjects (n = 24 each) were given 4 h of exposure either to the situational stimuli of the shuttlebox or to a neutral box. Then, 10 two-way avoidance trials were given with 1.6-mA shock. Subsequently, subjects were allowed to escape from one of the shuttlebox compartments to an adjacent safe box. Following preexposure to situational stimuli, avoidance performance was superior whereas escape-from-fear performance was inferior. This latter finding demonstrated that less fear of situational cues was present during avoidance training in the preexposed condition. All of these results support the effective reinforcement theory, an extension of two-factor theory, which emphasizes the importance for avoidance learning of the amount of fear of situational cues present following a response.     

RESEARCH SECTION: Curriculum integration and at‐risk students: a Canadian case study examining student learning and motivation

The combining of subject areas or disciplines, referred to in this article as curriculum integration, has been recognised as being linked to high levels of student motivation and learning. Sheryl MacMath of the University of Toronto, Jillian Roberts of the University of Victoria, and John Wallace and Xiaohong Chi of the University of Toronto discuss the findings of their case study (n = 23 students) based in a Canadian secondary school where an integrated unit on energy was taught to pupils identified as being ‘at risk’ of not completing high school. Teacher and student interviews, classroom observations and surveys were used in the case study to investigate student motivation and learning. Results from the study illustrate that students experienced higher levels of motivation and academic success compared to work on previous units. The authors explore how higher levels of student self‐efficacy were also recorded due to the repetition of content in different classrooms and across different contexts. The authors argue that further research in this area should examine more than student learning and motivation and highlights the need to focus specifically on opportunities for successful academic experiences where student efficacy is increased.