Defining attitude for science educators

A distinct and complex definition of attitude is evolving within the literature. A mental readiness to respond and a correlational consistency between attitude and behavior—although controversial and in need of further study and analysis—remain viable subcomponents within the definition. Most agree that evaluation is the heartbeat of attitude. The impact of social influence on attitudes is becoming increasingly important. Attitudes are learned and not inherited.     

Student outcomes with rotation of teachers in secondary biology

Look carefully at outcomes in the affective domain before exchanging a classroom with a rotating staff for the conventional one teacher design.     

Transfer of facilitation in the rat

In two experiments, rats solved two concurrent discrimination problems in which one stimulus (i.e., a facilitator) signaled the reinforcement of another stimulus (i.e., a target). Then a transfer test assessed the capacity of facilitators trained in one problem to promote responding to targets trained in the other. Experiment 1 found that a facilitator promoted as much responding to such a transfer target as to the target with which it was originally trained. Transfer was not obtained with a pseudofacilitator that was uninformative, in training, about the reinforcement of its target. Experiment 2 manipulated the stimulus modality of the targets and facilitators. Its results indicated that transfer performance was not due to generalization between training and transfer targets or facilitators. These results parallel those from comparable autoshaping paradigms with pigeons, and they agree with the view that facilitators promote responding by lowering the threshold for activation of the US representation.     

Perception and practice of writing for publication by faculty at a doctoral-granting university

Of a faculty of 685 at a doctoral-granting university, 400 completed a questionnaire (the Writing Habits Survey) indicating the patterns and conditions under which they write for publication, the techniques they employ to facilitate their writing, and the factors that inhibit their writing. Overall, faculty seemed to devote substantial efforts to writing, they reported using rather unsystematic methods of writing, and they cited a lack of time as the chief constraint on their writing. The most productive writers seemed to work at writing in a regular (as opposed to sporadic) fashion, to have little anxiety about writing, and to minimize negative attitudes about the editorial process.     

A review of recent research in the area of initial fraction concepts

This paper reviews recent research in the area of initial fraction concepts. The common goal of the empirical studies which are represented in this analysis was to assist children develop a meaningful understanding of the rational number construct, founded on durable fraction concepts. Two interpretations of findings were derived from the research. One group of researchers identified initial fraction concepts emerging from the application of intuitive mechanisms, in particular partitioning in either continuous or discrete contexts, and leading to unit identification and iteration of the unit. The other group of researchers identified ideas of ratio and proportion present in young children's early thoughts about fractions.By generating links between studies, integrated research is created and consensus regarding critical problems and future directions is reached. Concluding remarks pose questions for further investigation.     

Preventative Reading Interventions Teaching Direct Mapping of Graphemes in Texts and Set-for-Variability Aid At-Risk Learners

We evaluated two experimenter-delivered, small-group word reading programs among at-risk poor readers in Grade 1 classes of regular elementary schools using a two-arm, dual-site-matched control trial intervention. At-risk poor word readers (n = 201) were allocated to either (a) Direct Mapping and Set-for-Variability (DMSfV) or (b) Current or Best-Practices small-group reading programs, typically for 10–11 hr over 10 weeks. Students were matched on baseline reading and language abilities, parent demographic measures, and observed regular classroom teaching quality. Results of hierarchical data modeling showed advantages for the DMSfV program (p < .05 for word reading and spelling at posttest and word reading and sentence comprehension at 5-month delayed posttest), with discernible valued added for the DMSfV condition across all follow-up measures. Results support the use of small-group preventative literacy intervention models that teach both direct mapping of grapheme–phoneme correspondences in text and set-for-variability.     

Adult-Child Relationship Processes and Early Schooling

This paper highlights the importance of social processes in early school outcomes. Child-adult relationships are a social context with particular salience for the development of a number of social and academic outcomes in early childhood. Research on both child-parent and child-teacher relationships is reviewed. Measurement technologies are described and conceptual perspectives based on dyadic systems models are advanced as heuristics for future research. Practice implications are drawn with respect to assessment of relationships and implications for conceptualization of early childhood outcomes.     

Antecedents of college students' study deficiencies: the relationship between course features and students' study activities

Students entering institutions of higher learning have been observed to be deficient in the skills and dispositions necessary for engaging in sustained autonomous study. Evidence from investigations comparing instructional features and students' study activities across different courses and grade levels suggests that (a) particular features of courses may act to prompt or inhibit the development of proficiency at academic studying; and (b) the difficulties experienced by postsecondary students may be traced to certain discontinuties between characteristics of courses at the secondary versus post-secondary levels. These discontinuities can be described in terms of three dimensions: (a) differences in the demands made on particular study activities associated with different coursework requirements; (b) the degree to which instructors provide supportive practices designed to facilitate or sustain students' productive study activities; and (c) the prevalance of teaching strategies designed to compensate students for their study deficiencies. Using evidence from extant research on studying and results from recent investigation of secondary-level courses, the claim is made that particular patterns of instructor-implemented demands (workload, test difficulty, and latitude for self-direction) and compensations (test review practices, overlap between test items and instructor handouts, and the presence of safety nets) might account for deficiencies in the study activities of postsecondary graduates. Further, improving the level of preparedness of secondary-level graduates for the demands associated with higher education courses is discussed in terms of the need for the provision of particular support practices (e.g., feedback, clear performance expectations, and guided practice) in secondary-level courses.