The differential antecedents of self-efficacy beliefs of novice and experienced teachers

Among the sources of teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs, mastery experiences are postulated to be the most potent. Thus it seems likely that other sources of self-efficacy would play a larger role early in learning when fewer mastery experiences are available. Among the 255 novice and careers teachers who participated in this study, contextual factors such as the teaching resources and interpersonal support available were found to be much more salient in the self-efficacy beliefs of novice teachers. Among experienced teachers, for whom an abundance of mastery experiences were available, contextual factors played far less important a role in their self-efficacy beliefs.     

Student perspectives on climate change through place-based filmmaking

Abstract

The study examined high school students’ perspectives on climate change before and after participation in an informal science education program. During the program, students made a short, place-based film about climate change impacts in their communities. Qualitative and quantitative analysis of student data revealed key themes that illustrate how students characterized climate change before and after developing their films. Following the program, students described climate change as locally-relevant, alarming, and a concern that held increased personal importance to them. They also reported greater confidence in their understanding of the causes and consequences of climate change and indicated a stronger sense of both collective and personal responsibility to take action to address climate change challenges in their communities. The study adds to the existing body of literature that describes how making personally meaningful connections with climate change can inspire a sense of responsibility and agency among students.     

Retrospectives on factors influencing inclusive opportunities for college students with extensive support needs

Current U.S. legislation calls for students with disabilities to be involved and make progress in general education curriculum. Despite the legislation, students with extensive support needs continue to be segregated from their peers and post-school outcomes remain dismal for this population of students. The purpose of this retrospective study was to explore the perceptions of two students with extensive support needs and their caregivers regarding factors that contributed to their involvement and progress in the general education curriculum and eventual enrolment in four-year, post-secondary institutions in the United States. Findings related to the role of participants’ perceptions of self, participants’ engagement in advocacy roles and activities, and specific human and material supports that both facilitated and acted as barriers to education in the general curriculum emerged as recurrent themes. Limitations of the study and suggestions for future research and practice are presented.     

Family Science Talk in Museums: Predicting Children's Engagement From Variations in Talk and Activity

Children's developing reasoning skills are better understood within the context of their social and cultural lives. As part of a research–museum partnership, this article reports a study exploring science‐relevant conversations of 82 families, with children between 3 and 11 years, while visiting a children's museum exhibit about mammoth bones, and in a focused one‐on‐one exploration of a “mystery object.” Parents' use of a variety of types of science talk predicted children's conceptual engagement in the exhibit, but interestingly, different types of parent talk predicted children's engagement depending on the order of the two activities. The findings illustrate the importance of studying children's thinking in real‐world contexts and inform creation of effective real‐world science experiences for children and families.     

Effects of lecture video styles on engagement and learning

Educational technology research and development - Lecture videos are an integral part of distance education. Much has been done to investigate the effects of lecture video styles, but many of the...     

Bringing the Science of Team Training to School-Based Teams

Teams are ubiquitous in schools in the 21st Century; yet training for effective teaming within these settings has lagged behind. The authors of this article developed 5 modules, grounded in the science of team training and adapted from an evidence-based curriculum used in medical settings called TeamSTEPPS®, to prepare instructional and administrative personnel for teamwork and to enhance their teamwork skills. The resulting 5 modules, available for download on the American Psychological Association website, are collectively called Teach Teamwork and include: Introduction to Teams and Teamwork, Communication, Mutual Support, Situation Monitoring, and Leadership. In this article, the modules and supplemental materials are described, along with recommendations for implementation.     

Improved Academic Performance and Student Perceptions of Learning Through Use of a Cell Phone‐Based Personal Response System

Personal response systems, such as clickers, have been widely used to improve the effectiveness of teaching in various classroom settings. Although hand‐held clicker response systems have been the subject of multiple prior studies, few studies have focused on the use of cell phone‐based personal response system (CPPRS) specifically. This study explores students’ academic performance and their perceptions of learning through the use of a CPPRS (TopHat) in an undergraduate Food Science class. In this study, students did not use the CPPRS during the first half of the semester‐long course, but did during the second half. When CPPRS was used, students responded to 2 multiple‐choice questions at 3 points during the class, (a) at the beginning of class, (b) in the middle of the class, and (c) at the end of the class. Student performance was measured by correctness rates on eight 10‐item multiple choice quizzes, 4 quizzes each covering the class content that was delivered with compared with without CPPRS. A survey was conducted at the end of the semester asking (n = 28) students’ perceptions of CPPRS. The average correctness rate for quizzes covering content delivered with CPPRS (85% ± 9%) was significantly higher than for content delivered without CPPRS (82% ± 10%) (P = 0.016). In addition, students perceived that CPPRS was easy to use (5.04 ± 0.58 on a 1 to 6 scale with 1 being strongly disagree and 6 being strongly agree) and positively impacted their learning (4.52 ± 0.99 using the same scale). When used correctly, CPPRS can facilitate student learning in lectures.     

Transition to child care: associations with infant-mother attachment, infant negative emotion, and cortisol elevations

Seventy 15-month-old infants were studied at home before starting child care, during adaptation (mothers present) and separation (first 9 days without mothers) phases, and 5 months later. Security of infant-mother attachment was assessed before and 3 months after child care began. In the separation phase, salivary cortisol rose over the first 60 min following the mothers' departures to levels that were 75% to 100% higher than at home. Compared with insecure infants, secure infants had markedly lower cortisol levels during the adaptation phase and higher fuss and cry levels during the separation phase, and their fuss and cry levels were significantly correlated with their cortisol levels. Attachments remained secure or became secure if mothers spent more days adapting their children to child care.     

CRISIS PREPAREDNESS IN SCHOOLS: EVALUATING STAFF PERSPECTIVES AND PROVIDING RECOMMENDATIONS FOR BEST PRACTICE

The current study investigated the content of school crisis plans and perceptions of crisis preparedness among school staff in six public elementary schools. Surveys were administered to 72 teachers, administrators, and other school staff members measuring their perceptions of crisis preparedness and performance of activities related to crisis response (i.e., trainings, familiarity with crisis plans, etc.). Respondents indicated positive perceptions of preparedness for the occurrence of a crisis at each of their schools; however, they reported lower participation in preparedness activities and provided inconsistent answers on response procedures. Regression analyses found that reading the crisis plan was a significant predictor of feelings of preparedness for fire, death, suicide, and extreme weather events. Researchers additionally found that school crisis plans lacked many of the components recommended by best practice. These findings and implications for educators are discussed.     

Use of Simulated Multidisciplinary Treatment Teams and Client Actors to Teach Case Conceptualization and Treatment Planning Skills

The authors describe instructional methods used to teach comprehensive and individualized case conceptualization and treatment planning in a graduate‐level Advanced Counseling Procedures course. Students participate in a theory‐driven, simulated multidisciplinary treatment team and meet with recruited client actors to bring “to life” the process of integrating multiple clinical perspectives into a cohesive service plan for a client. Feedback from students and recommendations for course enhancement are provided.