Gender Bias in Student Evaluations of Teaching: ‘Punish[ing] Those Who Fail To Do Their Gender Right’

Higher Education - A significant body of work problematises the assumption that student evaluations of teaching (SET) actually measure teaching quality. This is concerning, given that SET are...     

Need for approval and antisocial behavior moderate the effect of socioemotional cues on adolescent girls’ cognitive control

To examine whether need for approval (NFA) and antisocial behavior (ASB) moderate the effects of socioemotional stimuli on cognitive control, 88 girls (M_age = 16.31 years; SD = 0.84; 65.9% White) completed a socioemotional Go/No-go and questionnaires. At high approach NFA, girls responded more slowly during appetitive than control (b = −8.80, p < .01) and aversive (b = −5.58, p = .01) trials. At high ASB, girls responded more slowly (b = −6.12, p = .02) and less accurately (OR = 1.11, p = .03) during appetitive than aversive trials; at low ASB, girls responded more slowly during aversive than control trials (b = −4.42, p = .04). Thus, both context and individual differences influence adolescents' cognitive control.     

Dynamic changes in perfectionism dimensions and psychological distress among adolescents assessed before and during the COVID-19 pandemic

This prospective longitudinal study evaluated changes in psychological distress among adolescents, pre-pandemic to intra-pandemic, the extent to which within-person and between-person differences in trait multidimensional perfectionism were associated with such changes, and the role of stress in explaining associations between perfectionism and psychological distress. Adolescents (N = 187; 80% female; 78% White, 7% Asian Canadian, 2% Indigenous Peoples in Canada, 2% Black or African Canadian, 2% Latin Canadian, or 9% Other; M_age = 17.96 years) completed online surveys assessing perfectionism (i.e., self-oriented perfectionism and socially prescribed perfectionism), depression, anxiety, and stress pre-pandemic (i.e., March 12, 2020 or earlier) and during Ontario, Canada's first (i.e., March 13, 2020 to July 24, 2020) and second (December 26, 2020 to February 7, 2021) government-mandated lockdowns. Between-person differences and within-person changes in multidimensional trait perfectionism were associated with increases in psychological distress and perceived stress. Perceived stress served as an intermediary pathway linking multidimensional trait perfectionism to psychological distress during the pandemic.     

More than just charts and graphs: What to teach in a data visualization course

Based on our experience developing and delivering a highly successful data visualization course within a Master of Science in Business Analytics program, we present a taxonomy for data visualization courses and recommend content and pedagogical features for each type of data visualization course therein. We also discuss the interdependence between data visualization and business communication as a critical consideration in course design.     

Adverse childhood experiences and health anxiety in adulthood

Childhood experiences are thought to predispose a person to the development of health anxiety later in life. However, there is a lack of research investigating the influence of specific adverse experiences (e.g., childhood abuse, household dysfunction) on this condition. The current study examined the cumulative influence of multiple types of childhood adversities on health anxiety in adulthood. Adults 18–59 years of age (N = 264) completed a battery of measures to assess adverse childhood experiences, health anxiety, and associated constructs (i.e., negative affect and trait anxiety). Significant associations were observed between adverse childhood experiences, health anxiety, and associated constructs. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis indicted that adverse childhood experiences were predictive of health anxiety in adulthood; however, the unique contribution of these experience were no longer significant following the inclusion of the other variables of interest. Subsequently, mediation analyses indicated that both negative affect and trait anxiety independently mediated the relationship between adverse childhood experiences and health anxiety in adulthood. Increased exposure to adverse childhood experiences is associated with higher levels of health anxiety in adulthood; this relationship is mediated through negative affect and trait anxiety. Findings support the long-term negative impact of cumulative adverse childhood experiences and emphasize the importance of addressing negative affect and trait anxiety in efforts to prevent and treat health anxiety.     

Lying in Politics: Fake News,Alternative Facts,and the Challenges for Deliberative Civics Education

Inspired by Orwell's chilling account of brainwashing, propaganda, and the obliteration of the lines between fiction and truth, Mordechai Gordon attempts to make sense of the phenomenon of lying in politics as a challenge to deliberative civics education. His analysis begins with a detailed consideration of the distinctions Hannah Arendt draws between factual truth, lying, and opinions in several works but with particular reference to her essays “Lying in Politics” and “Truth and Politics.” Gordon shows that although Arendt recognized many of the dangers to the vitality of a democracy when the lines that distinguish between facts, lies, and opinions become blurred, she could not have anticipated the extent to which the advent of modern technology and online media would exacerbate this problem in contemporary society. Next, he draws on the theory of deliberative democracy to argue that the lack of a clear distinction between fiction and factual truths serves to undermine the quality of political debates in a democratic society. In the final part of the essay, Gordon discusses the challenges that the advent of fake news organizations and the dissemination of alternative facts as truth pose to deliberative civics education, specifically how the trend of a diminishing space of truth and fact undermines efforts to teach students how to engage effectively and productively in democratic deliberations.     

‘The learning sticks’: reflections on a case study of role-playing for sustainability

Use of role-plays to develop deep student-learning has many advocates. Role-play is a powerful approach for learning that develops relevant skills in a range of disciplines and situations. In Higher Education, sustainability programmes role-play pedagogy appears to have great relevance for developing the competencies that these graduates will need. The ability of role-play pedagogy to develop these competencies was assessed through a case study of students in a first-year subject/course at an Australian university. Analysis of the students’ written comments indicate that the students were involved in significant learning, and had made substantial progress in developing five key skills for sustainability. The enjoyment and engagement they demonstrated was an added benefit of their experience and potentially of the role-play approach. While it is acknowledged that a role-play requires careful planning and support, and may be considered resource intensive, it can be argued that the student learning achieved is worth the effort.