Learning from Writing in College Biology

This study used both quantitative and qualitative analyses to examine the influence of written arguments on learning in a college level introductory biology class and the types of metacognition employed by students while writing. Comparison of a treatment and control group indicates that the writing assignments used had minimal impact on overall content learning as measured by conventional exams. Subsequent interviews and think-aloud protocols with a subset of students indicated that writing arguments had the potential to foster learning through forward and backward search strategies. However, few of the students took advantage of this opportunity to use metacognitive skills. This study suggests that preparing written arguments is not sufficient, by itself, to have a reliable effect on student learning and is consistent with the view that students must be explicitly taught when and how to use different metacognitive strategies.     

The Effect of a State Department of Education Teacher Mentor Initiative on Science Achievement

This study investigated the effectiveness of a southern state??s department of education program to improve science achievement through embedded professional development of science teachers in the lowest performing schools. The Science Mentor Program provided content and inquiry-based coaching by teacher leaders to science teachers in their own classrooms. The study analyzed the mean scale scores for the science portion of the state??s high school graduation test for the years 2004 through 2007 to determine whether schools receiving the intervention scored significantly higher than comparison schools receiving no intervention. The results showed that all schools achieved significant improvement of scale scores between 2004 and 2007, but there were no significant performance differences between intervention and comparison schools, nor were there any significant differences between various subgroups in intervention and comparison schools. However, one subgroup, economically disadvantaged (ED) students, from high-level intervention schools closed the achievement gap with ED students from no-intervention schools across the period of the study. The study provides important information to guide future research on and design of large-scale professional development programs to foster inquiry-based science.     

Dreaming and immanence: rejecting the dogmatic image of thought in science education

In this article, we, a multivocal-thinking-assemblage, trouble what we feel is the dogmatic image of thought in science education. Beginning with Lars Bang’s (Cult Stud Sci Educ, 2017) dramatic and disruptive imagery of the Ouroboros as a means to challenge scientific literacy we explore the importance of dreams, thinking with both virtual and actual entities, and immanent thinking to science education scholarship. Dreaming as movement away from a dogmatic image of thought takes the authors in multiple directions as they attempt to open Deleuzian horizons of difference, immanence, and self-exploration.     

Using the Inquiry Process to Motivate and Engage all (Including Struggling) Readers

With increasingly rigorous standards and mounting high stakes testing, it seems harder than ever to motivate and engage struggling readers. In this article the authors provide an overview of the inquiry learning process, which details how providing students with choice and opportunities to collaborate with peers can keep students invested in their own learning and progress. Within the framework of standards and/or a unit of study, students are coached toward choosing a personally meaningful research question in which they are given freedom to explore the answer through a variety of self-selected texts. Inquiry learning can be woven into already existing units of study or can be used to create an entirely new classroom project. The authors walk readers through the inquiry process with a teacher vignette that provides a step-by-step plan that can be implemented in any classroom.     

Generational differences in knowledge,recognition, and perceptions of elder abuse reporting

This study investigated the extent to which age, knowledge, attitudes toward aging, and perceptions of elder abuse influence elder abuse reporting trends. Using hypothetical scenarios, facts on elder abuse, reporting barriers, ageist attitudes, and other measures, survey data were collected from university students and elderly attendees at multiple senior centers. There were no generational differences in the cumulative rating severity score across all scenarios. However, students were more likely to report the abusive behavior to authorities. Abuse knowledge, recognition and severity, ageist attitudes, and perceived barriers were significantly correlated with a higher reporting score. Although students viewed financial exploration and self-neglect as less serious, when it came to physical and sexual abuse the decision to report to the authorities was comparable for the two groups. For both age groups, the unclear and inconsistent definitions of elder abuse and lack of sufficient proof were considered the major barriers to consistent reporting protocols. Compared to students, seniors were more likely to think reporting an abusive situation would only make things worse and, as a result, favored keeping the abuse private among family members. The majority of seniors also felt others in their own age group would deny the abuse if reported.