媒介素养教学方法和教师培训

由于全球文化急剧变化以及素养在提高个人、社会和文化发展中的作用,如今的素养概念已经扩展为包括数字、视觉和电子媒介以及流行文化在内的一种内涵;这也就提升了媒介素养教育对个人和社会发展的重要意义。开展媒介素养教育可以在正规和非正规教育环境下进行,它将对学生学习动机的激发、师生关系的改善、公民技能的提高产生作用。     

Face processing in infancy: developmental changes in the use of different kinds of relational information

Adults use both first-order, or categorical, relations among features (e.g., the nose is above the mouth), and second-order, or fine spatial relations (e.g., the space between eyes), to process faces. Adults' expertise in face processing is thought to be based on the use of second-order relations. In the current study, 5-month-olds detected second-order changes, but 3-month-olds failed to detect second-order changes induced by 2 different manipulations. Three-month-olds did detect first-order changes, however. Also, inversion affected 5-month-olds' processing of second-order but not first-order information. These results suggest that, although sensitivity to first-order relations is available by 3 months or earlier, sensitivity to second-order information may not develop until sometime between 3 and 5 months of age.     

A Deliberate Practice Approach to Teaching Phylogenetic Analysis

One goal of postsecondary education is to assist students in developing expert-level understanding. Previous attempts to encourage expert-level understanding of phylogenetic analysis in college science classrooms have largely focused on isolated, or “one-shot,” in-class activities. Using a deliberate practice instructional approach, we designed a set of five assignments for a 300-level plant systematics course that incrementally introduces the concepts and skills used in phylogenetic analysis. In our assignments, students learned the process of constructing phylogenetic trees through a series of increasingly difficult tasks; thus, skill development served as a framework for building content knowledge. We present results from 5 yr of final exam scores, pre- and postconcept assessments, and student surveys to assess the impact of our new pedagogical materials on student performance related to constructing and interpreting phylogenetic trees. Students improved in their ability to interpret relationships within trees and improved in several aspects related to between-tree comparisons and tree construction skills. Student feedback indicated that most students believed our approach prepared them to engage in tree construction and gave them confidence in their abilities. Overall, our data confirm that instructional approaches implementing deliberate practice address student misconceptions, improve student experiences, and foster deeper understanding of difficult scientific concepts.     

Unionization and Perceived Control Among Community College Faculty

The research reported in this paper examined what role working in a union or nonunion college has in influencing faculty perceptions of control over their work. Using data from the 1993, 1999, and 2004 National Study of Postsecondary Faculty, this study explored the relative importance of variables in influencing perceived control among full-time teaching faculty in unionized and nonunionized community colleges. Union status was not found to be predictive of perceived control.     

Parenting and Child DRD4 Genotype Interact to Predict Children’s Early Emerging Effortful Control

Effortful control (EC), or the trait‐like capacity to regulate dominant responses, has important implications for children’s development. Although genetic factors and parenting likely influence EC, few studies have examined whether they interact to predict its development. This study examined whether the DRD4 exon III variable number tandem repeat polymorphism moderated the relation between parenting and children’s EC. Three hundred and eighty‐two 3‐year‐olds and primary caregivers completed behavioral tasks assessing children’s EC and parenting. Children’s DRD4 genotypes moderated the relation between parenting and EC: Children with at least one 7‐repeat allele displayed lower EC in the context of negative parenting than children without this allele. These findings suggest opportunities for modifying early risk for low EC.     

Pedagogical Media Competencies of Preservice Teachers in Germany and the United States: A Comparative Analysis of Theory and Practice

Teachers need knowledge and skills to make effective use of the growing variety of media and technology texts and tools available for use in elementary and secondary education. For this reason, pedagogical media competencies are highly relevant for teachers’ professional development. The theory of media pedagogical competencies is first defined and then located in the context of the relevant scholarly literature from both Germany and the United States. We conducted a comparative analysis of German and U.S. pedagogical media competency models and report data on a survey of teacher education programs in Germany and the United States to identify the proportion of programs of study that include courses in media didactics, media and school reform, and media education. We consider the implications of the missing connections between the theoretical framework of pedagogical media competencies and the current practice of media pedagogical teacher training, revealing implications for further work needed to improve the integration of media in various school-related contexts.     

Toward a collective rhetoric rooted in choice: Consciousness raising in the Boston Women’s Health Book Collective’s Ourselves and Our Children

Contemporary feminists struggle over “choice.” A central demand of the second wave, some feminists insist on the continued significance of choice to their activism and theorizing; others are critical of the term, arguing that an emphasis on choice diverts attention from political issues and blames women for the oppressions they experience. The tension at the root of this debate is echoed in feminist theorizing about consciousness raising. In her germinal essay “The Rhetoric of Women’s Liberation: An Oxymoron,” Campbell argues that through consciousness raising, feminists illuminated the political underpinnings of women’s personal problems and prompted collective activism aimed at finding structural solutions to those problems, all the while affirming the centrality of choice to women’s lives. What Campbell left unstated, however, is how a process based in choice will promote a political, collective response. In this essay, I offer an analysis of the 1978 volume Ourselves and Our Children, arguing that the consciousness raising modeled therein illuminates broad patterns of political oppression, urges a collective response to those oppressions, and embraces choice. Based in a recognition of the synecdochic nature of the “personal is political” adage, this analysis offers insights into feminist debates over choice and resolves a lacuna in theorizing about consciousness raising.