USING SCIENCE CAMPS TO DEVELOP UNDERSTANDINGS ABOUT SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY—TAIWANESE STUDENTS IN A U.S. SUMMER SCIENCE CAMP

Recent years have witnessed a dramatic rise in the number of middle and high school students from Asian countries participating in U.S.-based summer experiences (Perlez &; Gao, 2013). Although summer science camps have been shown to improve students’ attitudes and interests related to science and science learning (Bhattacharyya, Mead &; Nathaniel, School Science and Mathematics 111:345–353, 2011; Fields, International Journal of Science Education 31:151–171, 2009; Gibson &; Chase, Science Education 86:693–705, 2002; Luehmann, International Journal of Science Education 31:1831–1855, 2009), whether there are cognitive gains for visiting students in these short-term experiences is not well understood (Liu &; Lederman, School Science and Mathematics 102:114–123, 2002; Williams, Ma, Prejean, Ford &; Lai, Journal of Research on Technology in Education 40:201–216, 2007). This study explored the efficacy of a U.S. summer science camp to engender improved understandings about scientific inquiry (SI) among a group of gifted Taiwanese students (n = 19) in grades 8 and 9. Participants were completing an 80-h summer science camp at a Midwestern U.S. university. The Views About Scientific Inquiry (VASI) questionnaire (Lederman, Lederman, Bartos, Bartels, Antink Meyer &; Schwartz, Journal of Research in Science Teaching 51:65–83, 2014) was used to capture students’ views before and after camp participation, with modest gains evident for five of the eight aspects of scientific inquiry assessed. These gains were related to scientific investigations beginning with a question, the multiple methods of science, the role of the question in guiding procedures, the distinction between data and evidence, and the combination of data and what is already known in the development of explanations. Implications for the structure of science camps for supporting the development of SI understandings among students from Asian classrooms, and in general, are discussed.

     

The Limits of Theory in Art Education

The last forty years have seen substantial and dramatic changes in the thinking about education in art. Changes have taken place in art itself and there have been incredible social, political and economic upheavals. All this has led to an enlarged view of art education. It has given rise to the need for greater dialogue and debate. In more recent years, there have been more concentrated and focussed efforts to establish art curricula and standards of accomplishment for art education. In England, there has been the introduction of the National Curriculum and in the USA there has been the development of the National Standards for Arts Education. In both countries there have been numerous efforts at national or state, local and school levels aimed at assessing what students’ `know and are able to do’ in the arts. The role of theory in art education is of some importance. It is through theory that a systematic accounting can be constructed that explains and makes consistent the individual critiques of what is going on in classrooms, schools, committees and the nation-at-large. The paper discusses developments in England and the United States with regard to the theoretical development of curricula and the means for evaluation in art education. It also outlines and discusses the `limits of theory in art education’. It is not opposed to theory; rather it is posited that preoccupations with theory should not over-ride the importance of maintaining a multiplicity of competing (or emerging) meanings. It is argued that theories should inform and illuminate actions rather than place arbitrary limits upon them.     

Life Experiences among Urban Adolescents: Examining the Role of Context

Interest in the influence of context on the psychosocial development of adolescents led to the examination of neighborhood effects on the experience of adolescent life stress. Because of concerns regarding the population and ecological validity of existing measures of adolescent life events, the research group developed a scale for the measurement of life events among urban adolescents based on data from focus group interviews in the community of interest. Investigators utilized three strategies to examine the impact of neighborhood on adolescents' perceptions of life stress in a sample of 114 adolescents (mean age = 15). Results indicated that life stress in the peer domain varied by the adolescent's neighborhood of residence. In addition, family/community stress was linearly related to neighborhood indices of economic resources.     

Math Is Not a Universal Language: Supporting Middle School Students with Learning Disabilities Using Explicit Vocabulary Instruction in Mathematics Classrooms

Middle school students with learning disabilities often struggle with reading and literacy skills, including vocabulary, and require support in content-area classes such as mathematics where weak vocabulary knowledge can negatively affect learning, achievement, and deep understanding. However, in general, middle school mathematics teachers do not receive training in literacy instruction, much less in explicit vocabulary instruction. Additionally, relatively few studies have examined content-area vocabulary instruction at the middle or secondary school level. This study addressed these gaps in the research by examining the effect of a performance feedback and coaching intervention on middle school mathematics teachers’ use of explicit mathematics vocabulary instruction. Results of the study indicate that performance feedback and coaching had moderately positive effects on teachers’ use and quality of explicit mathematics vocabulary instruction.     

Understanding number sequences leads to understanding mathematics concepts

Ninety-six first grade students in an urban school system were tested in October and May on reading, mathematics, and their understanding of sequences of letters and numbers. A time lag analysis was subsequently conducted. In such analyses, cross-correlations between the first measurement of one variable and the second measurement of another are compared. The larger of the correlations indicates the direction of the relationship; i.e., which variable is most likely to be causal. Correlations of the fall scores on the number sequences with spring scores on the mathematics concepts scale were significant, while correlations of the fall mathematics concepts scores with spring number sequence scores were negligible. This indicates that understanding such complex sequences has a directional effect on understanding mathematics concepts. Fall–spring cross-correlations for the letter sequences and reading test, although significant, did not differ, and hence provided no indication of the direction of the relationship. Potential explanations were discussed.     

Family risks and protective factors: Pathways to Early Head Start toddlers’ social-emotional functioning

Early Head Start children may be more likely to exhibit difficulties with social-emotional functioning due to the high-risk environments in which they live. However, positive parenting may serve as a protective factor against the influence of risk on children's outcomes. The current study examines the effects of contextual and proximal risks on children's social-emotional outcomes and whether these effects are mediated by maternal sensitivity. One-hundred and fourteen low-income, high-risk mother-toddler dyads participated in this longitudinal study designed to examine the relationships between family risk, mothers’ sensitivity, and children's social-emotional functioning in Early Head Start families. Researchers conducted two 2.5-h home visits, approximately six months apart, during which they assessed mothers’ levels of family risk, maternal sensitivity, and their children's social-emotional functioning. A theoretically derived structural equation model was tested to examine the direct paths from family risk variables to children's social-emotional functioning and the indirect paths by way of the mediator variable, maternal sensitivity. Support was found for a model that identified maternal sensitivity as a mediator of the relationship between parenting stress and children's social-emotional functioning. Results have implications for providing services through Early Head Start programs that are aimed at alleviating parenting stress and enhancing maternal sensitivity.     

“Going the race way”: Biographical influences on multicultural and antiracist English curriculum practices

As curriculum standardization escalates, teachers’ agency in relation to teaching to student diversity takes on increasing importance. This article draws from an international study that investigated the multicultural and antiracist teaching practices of 15 English teachers in two racially diverse schools, one in the United States, the other in Canada. Analysis of in-depth interviews and curriculum-related documents found that teachers’ agency was related to biographical elements of professional preparation, prior experiences with diversity, and generational status. The article reports on data from the United States school and offers recommendations for professional development and teacher preparation.