Performance of students in grades six,nine, and twelve on five logical,spatial and formal tasks

Performance on five logical, spatial and formal tasks was used to make inferences about the reasoning structures of the subjects. The tasks used were: seriation matrix, tilt of a cone, location of a point in two and three dimensions, flexible rods and projection of shadows. Three research questions were asked: first, what is the general level of performance; second, are there grade level differences; and third, are there gender differences in task performance. The subjects were 101 middle and high school students chosen at random from the school population. Each task was given in an individual interview. Findings include grade level differences in performance and gender differences in performance on one of the tasks. Implications for classroom teachers were proposed.     

Vagal Regulation in Breastfeeding Infants and Their Mothers

Consistent with the gustatory–vagal hypothesis, vagal stimulation during breastfeeding may contribute to infants' physiological regulatory development independent of caregiving effects. This study examined whether breastfeeding predicted 6‐month‐old infants' (N = 151) and their mothers' vagal regulation during the face‐to‐face still‐face (FFSF). Although breastfed and nonbreastfed infants showed expected vagal withdrawal during the Still‐Face episode, only breastfed infants showed continued withdrawal during the reunion episode, suggesting greater physiological mobilization to repair the interaction. Breastfeeding mothers showed higher vagal tone than nonbreastfeeding mothers at baseline, suggesting greater capacity for regulation, and throughout the FFSF, suggesting calmer states. Breastfeeding effects were independent of maternal sensitivity. Findings suggest that infants' and mothers' physiological regulation may be shaped by breastfeeding independently of associated social factors.     

Using a scholarship of teaching and learning approach to award faculty who innovate

This study examines a college-teaching award that uses a scholarship of teaching model focusing on learning outcomes. Through questionnaires the researcher examined two groups’ perceptions: award recipients and academic leaders. Respondents described the award and indicated the perceived effect on faculty and programs. Both groups highlighted faculty incentive to innovate for promoting student learning, a strong impact on performance evaluation, and recognition of exceptional teaching. Respondents recommended better communicating the award’s rigor and learning focus to increase its impact. Recipients reported the award’s influence on continued innovation, engagement in teaching scholarship, and leadership opportunities. Over half have presented their work in peer-reviewed venues.     

Structural ignorance of Christian privilege

Abstract

Despite claims of a so-called war on Christmas, Christmas in the United States is still celebrated widely in public spaces. The question is why some people ignore, what some scholars call, their Christian privilege? In this paper, we explore the ignoring of Christian privilege in one public space: USA elementary schools. Using 27 interviews, we show that most of the teachers/administrators adopted what we are calling Christian ignorance –– a structural ignorance rooted in normative cognitive schemas that creates and maintains Christian privilege.     

The ethics of researching those who are close to you: the case of the abandoned ADD project

This paper explores the ethical issues involved when researchers attempt to study participants who are personally close to them. It describes a case in which two researchers decided to study the experiences respectively of their son and grandson, both with ADD. They had barely initiated the study when ethical concerns led them to abandon the project. The authors relate the specific issues raised in the case to general issues of ethics in action research, such as anonymity, informed consent, collaboration, and the tension between the personal and professional.     

Developing Coherent Conceptual Storylines: Two Elementary Challenges

The ‘conceptual storyline’ of a lesson refers to the flow and sequencing of learning activities such that science concepts align and progress in ways that are instructionally meaningful to student learning of the concepts. Research demonstrates that when teachers apply lesson design strategies to create a coherent science content storyline, student learning is positively impacted (Roth et al., 2011). Because the conceptual storyline is often implicit within a lesson, and teachers often have difficulty articulating this aspect of lesson design (Lo et al., 2014), our professional development program engages elementary teachers in analyzing and developing graphic representations of a lesson’s conceptual storyline to make that element explicit. In this exploratory study, we present typologies that represent two primary challenges teachers faced in developing coherent conceptual storylines in their lesson design, and examine the extent to which professional development enhanced their capacity to develop a coherent conceptual storyline.     

Average Effect Sizes in Developer-Commissioned and Independent Evaluations

Abstract

Rigorous evidence of program effectiveness has become increasingly important with the 2015 passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). One question that has not yet been fully explored is whether program evaluations carried out or commissioned by developers produce larger effect sizes than evaluations conducted by independent third parties. Using study data from the What Works Clearinghouse, we find evidence of a “developer effect,” where program evaluations carried out or commissioned by developers produced average effect sizes that were substantially larger than those identified in evaluations conducted by independent parties. We explore potential reasons for the existence of a “developer effect” and provide evidence that interventions evaluated by developers were not simply more effective than those evaluated by independent parties. We conclude by discussing plausible explanations for this phenomenon as well as providing suggestions for researchers to mitigate potential bias in evaluations moving forward.     

Challenging the productivity mantra: academic writing with spirit in place

Academic writing groups aim to improve the quality and/or the rate of academic publications. In this article, the authors reflect on a writing group with academic and non-academic members that evolved over two years to uphold a deeper and arguably spiritual purpose. The group commenced with the aim of increasing its members' publication rates, but it developed to be a safe space for members to search for meaning as part of a fellowship of writers. This transition was based in the members’ shared commitment to social justice values and individual concerns to generate meaningful research and writing experiences. The group’s distinct processes, the shared values of its members and the site of the group meetings in a socially stigmatised community, all work to deepen its purpose beyond academic productivity. Though the group functions to strengthen individual and group norms that contribute to academic productivity, emergent norms and the fellowship of the writers foster a spiritual dimension in the group. This exploration of the spiritual dimension of a writing group adds to the long list of benefits of fellowship through academic writing groups.